


Day 7

by VsaFic



Series: Day 7 [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: (heavily implied and mentioned), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fan Offspring, Gem Egg Hell, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-12 12:38:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4479557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VsaFic/pseuds/VsaFic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl used to tell herself she’d be happy as ever if she saw Rose again. 700 years into the future, Steven’s physical form passes away, and Rose is suddenly back. Many things have changed, and expectations end up not matching reality. At all.</p><p>An account of the first seven days after Steven has passed away and Rose has abruptly returned.</p><p>Currently on version: 3.0 until Chapter 8, 2.0 in the remaining two chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Overture I

**Author's Note:**

> A fic I started because this idea wouldn't leave my head. Began publishing in ff.net, then made an account here to give it some exposure with this crowd. Here's a couple mirror links:
> 
> Tumblr - http://vsa---art.tumblr.com/post/125304885677/overture-i-day-7-ch1  
> FF - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/1/Day-7
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The awakening of Rose Quartz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Now on version 3.0. Fixed some issues with the usage of epithets to make the reading less stunted. Also fixed some narration oddities.)

The rose quartz stone is sitting on the coffee table, waiting. It hasn’t moved from there, but every single inhabitant of the house veers away from it, and the cushion it lays in, like it’s some sort of anti-magnet. Like it radiates sorrow.

 And really, it does. Garnet has already burned the corpse it belonged to in the incinerator. They’d rather keep a bubble with the leftover smoke as the sole remain of his physical form over the rotting flesh— he was still half-human, back when he was alive. He’d still and stink and need to eat and other gross things that came with being organic.

 A large, muscular gem is idly sitting on the couch, on _his_ room. To say the temple and the human house kept as facade aren’t filled with tension, a bittersweet blend of horror, sorrow and expectation, is to lie blatantly to herself and to every other resident, so she doesn’t deny herself her own grieving process— Her amber eyes still drift from the e-magazine in the holographic screen to the resting stone, expecting the moment when it won’t be inert anymore and her beloved Quartz child will be reborn.

 Garnet had touched the gemstone on his belly after he fell limp, not even bothering to hold back, even less wipe, the tears as she did a thorough inspection. His physical form was damaged enough alright, but it hadn’t disappeared in the classic shockwave of smoke and fairy dust all gems tended to go in when they retreated to regenerate. 

Instead, when the fusion had poked it, the gemstone had popped right off the body of the half-human, leaving behind his organic tissue. The corpse was still the exact same, save for a perfect round hole where the gemstone had once been embedded. His stomach possessed no navel, and the team had speculated the “scar” of his “umbilical cord” had precisely been the gem Garnet was now holding, torn between horror and plain shock.

 Opal had theorized the man, being organic in a way, must simply drop his obsolete physical form when regenerating, instead of poofing. That had brought her a fake sense of calm. Her form still wavered, flashing white, every few minutes, and Garnet eventually suggested she and the other fusion retreat into the temple, to practice a few exercises centered on keeping her fusion stable. Opal was still very new, for permanent fusion standards; only a hundred years or so, and she still split occasionally when put under enough stress.

 The gem on the couch cuts the flashback short, trying to not be so affected by the loss of a team member. Really, it wouldn’t matter if the man wasn’t half-human. She’d seen Peridot succumb several times; Lapis had rested on Peridot's lap while the latter idly stroked her teardrop gemstone, heck, if she wanted to amp the level up a bit, she’d even seen them crack their gems a couple of times along the way. She tells herself this is just a usual regeneration conundrum, even though, in seven hundred years, he hasn’t perished  _once_. He’d lived enough to see his human mate die. He’d lived enough to have _several of those_.

 She has to admit that it partly has to do with the fact even weaker gems like Lapis —well, at least physical form wise— would put themselves in the way, preferring their own regeneration over the uncertainty of what would happen to _him_ if he was poofed.

  _Well_ , _here we are_ , she reflects, her eyes still glancing at the stone and the way the yellow light of the warm lamp sparkles off its facets.

 She flips the page of the e-magazine in her hand with a swipe of her thumb, even though all of her reading has been absentminded. 

 Then, it happens.

She puts the small device on her hand down and the e-mag shuts off with a flicker of the screen. She switches off the lamp and puts it aside, giving the gem the space it needs to make mass for a physical form. The base mannequin for the general form of all gems begins to flourish from the rose quartz as a jingle plays, and it’s in that exact moment that she senses something is wrong.

 The mannequin is female. It’s female, and it’s _too eerily familiar_.

Her figurative heart figuratively thumps in her chest as realization hits, as the mass of curls sprouts from the mannequin’s head and a flowy, wide dress appears on _her_ body.

 The form flashes a final time, landing gently atop the coffee table. Rose Quartz’s locks bounce and fall into place, and the last of the silky, light dress takes down, gracefully enveloping her legs. She’s barely changed since the last time they saw each other, and that was literal millennia ago. It was only three Earth centuries more and they would hit the six or seven thousandth anniversary, in fact.

 Those dark eyes, enveloped in long, pink eyelashes, flutter open. The scent of earth, of blooming flora, wafts from the newly formed gem and creeps into every corner of the room.

 Just as they finish opening, though, she’s taken aback, adopting a defensive stance with such ferocity she flips the coffee table in the process, spilling several e-mag chips and making them flicker open in the articles and bookmarks the rest of the team had left them in.

 “ _Jasper???_ ” She shrieks, dumbfounded.

 Jasper is too caught up in what just happened to even properly react, so her eyes simply close slowly and open again, just in time to catch Rose’s glancing down at the star logo proudly emblazoned on the chest of her uniform. Her expression next is simply boggled, and she can’t hold back a smirk at just how out of context the former leader of the gem rebellion must be after nearly six or seven thousand years.

 “The one and only,” she answers, some of the pride she basked in so abundantly in the old days still slipping in the way she speaks. “Jasper the Crystal Gem to you, Rose Quartz.”

 “Wh—“

 “Don’t worry. No resentment. The Quartz child taught me better than to hate you.” She gulps, unsure of how to drop the news. She’s always been blunt, so her best guess is to just do as she has always known. “ _He_ should be here, not you.”

 It’s that sentence that really makes her brain scramble the pieces together, and the pain hits like a dull kick square in her bosom. If this here is Rose Quartz, then that means her little Steven is probably never coming back.

  _He’s dead_. Jasper is programmed to cope with the passing of a fellow soldier easier, but she can already sense the breakdown looming over the rest of their team.

 The next days are going to more than just a bit tough on them. She can practically _taste_ it.

 She thinks Rose Quartz can feel it too, for one of her hands has dramatically flown to her face, while the other clutches the gemstone on her navel. “ _My son_ ,” she whispers, and Jasper nods in understanding, leaning forward and placing her elbows on her knees.

 “I shouldn’t be here,” she says, and Jasper makes a gesture with her head that, though simple, sends the _I wholeheartedly agree_ message pretty straight. 

 “Where is he?” she asks, and the other sighs.

 “We incinerated his body. We were all sure it was going to be _him_ who came back instead of _you_.” She’s spit out that last word. Rose isn’t even offended. Not even _she_ wants herself there.

 The blonde one slides her tongue gingerly through her lips, feeling them all dry. “Why don’t you go say hi? I’m sure there’s a bunch of people who want to give you greetings inside the temple.” She picks up the e-mag and pushes the chip, and the hologram flickers to life again. Rose reacts in shock to the display.

 “Don’t worry,” Jasper says. “We’ll have plenty of time to update you on how things have changed on the past seven hundred years here on Earth. And _boy_ do we have a lot to tell.” She sarcastically widens her eyes, now ignoring Rose, and places her feet nonchalantly on the edge of the flipped coffee table, her gaze focused on the hologram. “Also, no hard feelings.”

 Rose looks around the temple house, eyes drifting to the concrete of the walls, the metal of the doors, the transparent roof. The fact there  _wasn't_ a house when she lived in the temple flies completely over Jasper's head.

 Her gem shines for a split second and the rose seams trace the door, opening the portal to the actual temple. She steps in, her legs wobbly with fear. It’s a stark contrast, seeing someone so _huge_ so  _frightened_.

 The doors close behind her after a few gentle steps, and Jasper lifts herself from her seat, stifling sobs as she picks the coffee table and shuts the chips in the floor off before putting them back atop it. She’s a battle toughened gem, she’s seen deaths, she’s survived things to which the word “horrifying” is a mere understatement. Yet this loss has burrowed on her shell.

 Though, of course, as always, she’s too prideful to let Rose Quartz of all people watch her cry.

 

 


	2. Overture II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Quartz is welcome back into the Crystal Gems… in the loosest sense of the term.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so one thing I really like to do with my fiction is add ambiance. Usually I set the atmosphere via linking music that has the mood I want to transmit. So, expect links to music! Happily for me AO3 can actually insert links in the actual text, so if you see a text with a hyperlink in the chapters-- it's very likely the link is for music to set the atmosphere. Click without hesitation.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Mirrors: 
> 
> Tumblr - http://vsa---art.tumblr.com/post/125341125852/overture-ii-day-7-ch-2  
> FF - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/2/Day-7

 The water ripples softly around her. She’s sitting in the one spot where she knows she can get most harmony; the place most akin to what she _is_ — The waterfall that conjoins their chambers. She faces the water, ignoring the backdrop of Amethyst’s room, thinking of flowing the way the water does, harmonic, steady, secure.

  _Inhale_.

 They are one. They are the Flawless Fusion. They are the Giant Woman.

  _She_ is the Giant Woman.

 Her lidded eyes open slowly so she can admire herself. She has only seen another flawless fusion in her life, and it happened nearly seven hundred years ago, back when Steven’s first human mate was still alive. Her memories of seeing it as _Opal_ are vague, scattered and noisy, but she can perfectly recall Pearl’s initial shock and Amethyst’s happy wonder.

 But that had happened long ago. Now _she_ is the Flawless Fusion. No extra eyes. No leftover arms. No bizarre joints. No unusual body structure. Just the perfect mesh of two lovers.

 She looks down at her two hands tenderly. It had taken a lot of practice, understanding, and patience to manage a fusion that lacked the remaining two. But boy had it been worth it. Being so close, so _together_ was every bit as _wonderful—_ as _awesome—_ as Garnet had promoted excitedly to their faces when they informed her they considered becoming one.

 It has been a hundred years or so. She still recalls Steven’s excitement, the reprise of that one silly tune he had composed centuries ago, when he first got to admire the beauty that was Opal. Just the memory brings a smirk to her full lips, if a bittersweet one. Boy, does she miss her little one.

  _Remember_ , she tells herself before her form quivers. _He’ll be back very soon_.

 The fusion stands and balances on the tips of her toes, twirling on the water, blocking all outside stimuli as she dances and revels on what she is. She has to thank Garnet for the meditation and exercises she has shared for this type of situation, the _Steven has been poofed back into his gem_ type. She really owes her for all the tutoring. Being phased into one really _is_ something new; she wonders if Garnet still feels those wonderful tickles when she remembers she’s the very manifestation of love incarnate. 

A giggle escapes her lips as her hands roam her form, running through her slender torso, her athletic thighs, her firm buttocks, the gap between her small breasts; hugging her all over. _All I wanna do, is see you turn into…_

A noise cracks behind her, and she mentally scorns it for daring ruin her moment of perfect harmony. Shutting it out, she envisions water, the way Garnet had told her to.

When she had explained it, Garnet stated it worked for her because water was also the amalgam of fire and ice; but its fluidity and versatility also summed very well the constant adaptation of components to situations needed to preserve a fusion. Opal had been so close to snapping when Steven fell like a rag doll in the battlefield that a gap had opened in her chest. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

 Another noise. She frowns, stopping her delicate dance and standing still. Is this Lapis, or Peridot? She’d asked to have alone time to meditate.

 Maybe it is Jasper coming to tell her Steven has finally regenerated. Thinking of it makes her heart flutter with childish joy.

 She stretches, flexing her body in several poses, retaining her balance _en pointe_ on one foot, awaiting the announcement. It feels good.

 “Flawless fusion…”

 Her eyes snap open. _Impossible_. She loses balance and crashes in the water, landing flat on her back. She’s sure it must have been some sort of auditory hallucination.

 Her Pearl component begins to panic, not because she heard it, but because of _what she heard_. The Amethyst component tries to bring her to calm.

 Opal lifts herself from the water, her back now soaking wet, and sits with her legs crossed, supporting herself on her hands, not steering her line of sight away from the waterfall for one second.  Maybe it’ll just go away.

 “Pearl, Amethyst, I’m so proud of you. Look at what you have become!”

 She turns her head, inch by aching inch, her arms trembling with absolute, uncontained _horror_.

 “You became a flawless fusion….!”

 And just as Rose finishes that statement, Opal violently explodes in a cloud of lilac smoke.

* * *

  “Why are you here? Why _isn’t_ Steven here?” Pearl asks, and Rose is amazed at how sour a sentence can be.

 She’s the only one so far to speak, after a very puzzled Peridot had simply laid a flat _you’re not Steven._ Lapis side-eyes Rose, her gaze laced with poison. She’d said nothing, just sat there after Garnet had gathered them all because she’d heard the sound of an explosion and ascended to Amethyst’s section of the temple only to find a Pearl curled up in a ball, an Amethyst that stared in bewilderment, and, worst of all, _Rose Quartz_ standing there.

 Garnet herself is quiet, clenching the spandex of her uniform. She sits crosslegged and frontmost, her expression as mysterious and indecipherable as it has always been. It's her _hands_ that really tell everything.

 The former leader of the Crystal Gems has the feeling she isn’t very welcome.

 She could understand why. She would have preferred it if it was her son who regenerated. But who was she to know? She’d launched herself into this ride with crude planning. She just wanted a son. Gods, she’d wanted a son so bad. Was that a crime?

 “I guess this comes across as a surprise to all of us,” she begins. “I don’t think I can explain why it wasn’t my son who came back, but, well, fate has a way of writing its paths. There must be a reason I was wanted back home.”

 “Not quite,” Pearl retorts, bitterly. “We had learned to fare very well on our own with Steven. This is nothing short of unnecessary.”

 Rose grimaces. “My Pearl—“

 “ _Don’t_ ,” she interrupts, wincing. “ _Don’t_ even call me that. Bring back Steven. I don’t want _you_. I want Steven.”

 Centuries have passed for her to reach that conclusion. She’d tell herself if she had the chance to see Rose again, she’d take it in a whim, disregarding causes or consequences. Only reason to make her doubt it was maybe losing her pretty boy, her cutie pie; and she’d spend entire nights  mulling if there was ever a way she could have them both _for ages_.

 She’d been dreaming about this day for eons and here it is, and it precisely arrives in the most inconvenient moment, when she’s _finally_ left her behind; when she’s found love in Amethyst, a love even more passionate and dedicated that the one she’d ever felt for her former master, because it’s _corresponded_.

 She feels Amethyst’s warm palm stroke her back, and it soothes her. She’s fought for this love for seven hundred years, plucking out memory by memory with special care, replacing every trace of blind infatuation with that of legitimate love. She was having a beautiful life with Amethyst, they’d lived the commitment to become Opal, and her boy had bloomed into an amazing man and warrior, hardened outside, kind inside.

 No, she definitely doesn’t want Rose anymore. Rose can disappear for all she cares. She’s not just going to _waltz in_ and destroy all she has built, all the relationships, all the redemption for the Homeworld gems, now trapped on Earth as outcasts, sought by authorities as much as the original rebels are— initiated in the Crystal Gems out of need, staying out of _loyalty_.

 It’s just a matter of time, really. She can already sense the way Lapis grows aggravated and toxic and releases fumes in her contained fury. They have all learned so much from Steven, and they also have bitter memories involving Rose;  _all of them_ , save maybe for Peridot, and as soon as the tech’s mate informs her well about that one time Rose trapped her gem into a mirror to use for her personal benefit and then even _let her crack_ , Pearl is sure she is going to be raging too.

 Jasper isn’t there. Sapphire knows why very well, she knows Jasper’s been the first one to know—She’d sensed it, but also discarded it as part of those futures set in the low percentages. How cruel of fate to make _this one_ happen. She knows she’ll have to talk to Pearl and Amethyst about this—let them know she’d envisioned it. She can also foresee how Pearl will throw a tantrum on why they weren’t warned, while Amethyst flings swear words her way; and she sees herself, in Garnet, admitting she didn’t even _think_ this one to be among the plausible ones with an apology.

 It’s like her third eye can paint a countdown to a bomb planted inside the temple, and see it ticking on every wall, permanently in her line of sight. And Rose has planted the bomb.

 To think back in the day she was the one to preserve the harmony.

 For such a wise leader, she doesn’t even know how to approach her Homeworld-born comrades about this.

 And _then_ there’s the entire load that Steven has just _died_ …

 “This is a waste of time,” Lapis Lazuli intervenes, standing up. She almost spits the sentence out. “I’m not talking to you after the mirror fiasco, thank you very much. Oh yeah, and after taking away my beach summer fun buddy. That too. I’m out.”

 Peridot lifts her head, attentive. “The mirror…?”

 “Yeah, hon,” Lapis interrupts, dusting her skirt, that Rose bafflingly notices also sports a star. “Didn’t I ever tell you this gem here was the one to put me in the mirror? Just a fun fact for you.”

 She spreads her water wings and soars off the floor, searching for the opening to her section of the temple.

 Peridot’s head snaps to the newly arrived Rose Quartz, her eyes narrowing to slits in contempt. She follows suit, stiff and antipathic, rubbing her gem with her detached fingers as if great distress has occurred to her or is _about to occur_.

 Pearl sighs. She saw this coming.  She shakes her head in disappointment, jumping to her feet and cleaning dirt off her derriere. She flashes one last look to her former love, one filled with such passive aggressiveness that it almost intimidates her, especially because, below the layers of anger, Rose can still sense the _fear_ and the _pain_ and she doesn’t really understand what is happening right now or where she screwed up, and _also her son is dead..._

 Amethyst sighs deeply. “Been a rough day,” she mumbles, her voice shaky, insecure with a bubbling lie. “I’m gonna sleep. Lie with my mate if y’all don’t mind.”

 She stands up and begins her trek to the waterfall where Opal was basking in her own glory just a bit more than one hour ago. _To think things can go to hell so fast._

That leaves just Rose and the older fusion.

 The former parts her lips to speak, but Garnet shakes her head. “Don’t,” she says. “I don’t foresee any futures in which you staying here tonight ends well. Not even if you talk to me and just to me.” The big gem can see it in her dark hands, the way her knuckles are a lighter hue because it’s the only physical outlet to her struggling so bad to keep Ruby’s explosive feelings in line.

 She licks her lips, overwhelmed, the emotions of the day and the abrupt rejection weighing on her back like she’s just walked out of a bad battle. It hits her all at once: Her son is gone, her partners through good and bad have moved on, she’s been gone for too long to actually be missed. She knows that happens— She’d feel estranged as well if one of her deceased human partners just busted into her realm one day, when their passing didn’t mean anything anymore.

 “Do you know where Greg is?” She asks, out of instinct and not of reason, as if there’s a sliver of hope the human man is still alive, waiting for her on the car wash.

 “It’s been seven hundred years, Rose. He’s long gone.” Garnet’s answer is blunt, and it’s all she needs to be tipped off. She grimaces, a whine escapes her throat, her vision blurs.

 “Stay outside tonight,” the fusion says, and Rose nods, hiding her face in her hands. “We all need to think about what just happened. You were also long gone. And _we have also moved on_.”

 She sniffs.

 Garnet delivers a finishing sigh. “And now we also need to mourn Steven.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 3.0 as of August 9, 2015.


	3. Sunday, Night (Pearl/Amethyst)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl is too afraid of what Rose being back implies in her life to fuse back into Opal. Amethyst comforts her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a rule here in this fic that chapters must not exceed 3,000 words, because they become too boring for me to write and proofread (short attention span where?) so you'll read a lot of snippets, really. 
> 
> Mirrors: 
> 
> FF - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/3/Day-7  
> Tumblr - http://vsa---art.tumblr.com/post/125375191622/sunday-night-pearlamethyst-day-7-ch-3
> 
> The sex scene at the end, if you're into it, can be found in a separate fan fiction. Continues here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/4537674/chapters/10327446

Pearl is curled into a ball, sitting in the exact middle of one of her waterfalls, one with a particularly big diameter. It’s like a sound has rung inside her head the moment she laid eyes on Rose signaling the end of her happiness. It’s like Rose has actually proposed herself to ruin her inner peace at any point she finally finds it.

 She is unsure on when she became so resentful about her former leader. Maybe it was when she realized how foolishly she’d sacrificed herself on her sake. Or how immature and possessive she had acted, not only in general, but also over a feeble fiber she could barely grasp.

 She sighs, stifling a whimper. Gods, she’d longed for Rose so much in the past and now that she’s here, all she wants is to have Steven back. Now that she finally had her mate, the one she was sure she’d have forever, it felt to her as if Amethyst, Steven and herself fulfilled the last chance she had at roles of a classical gem family— two mated parent gems and the gemlings they birthed and raised.

 Her mulling is broken by the noises of splashing in her waterfall, and it’s cut short by warmth landing on her back, by lips that pepper the crook of her neck with fluttering kisses. It unintentionally drags a sigh out of her throat. Two stocky arms have surrounded her, supporting her with the same selfless dedication they had through many of her episodes of gloom. 

 The kisses have ascended, now landing on the flexible cartilage of her ear’s shell, the hands around her torso gently kneading, spreading waves of comfort through her physical form. She allows herself to sink in the warm pleasure, and before she knows it her body’s already giving in, glowing white, phasing into Amethyst’s own, their gemstones arranging themselves to fit in their shared form—

 Opal can barely blink before she pops split again, her components being shoved brusquely towards the cold surface of the cataract. _Damn it_ , Pearl thinks, whining; humans vastly underestimate the destructive capabilites of water.

 “What happened?” Amethyst asks, jumping to her feet and running to check on her mate. “What was that just now?”

 “I… I don’t know,” Pearl stammers. “Let’s try again.”

 She swallows, hoping she's properly masking the cold horror crawling under her skin. She fears being toppled over by her resurrected, former love is enough to destroy all the dedication she’s poured into Opal— what if she has four arms again? Pearl can’t cope with that. Just imagining it makes her stomach drop.

 Amethyst can probably sense the anguish in her eyes, and though her own round features are creased with stress, she still sighs and puts on a reassuring smile. She pushes her body close to that of her mate, her lips landing a soft peck on the rim of the oval pearl in the homonymous gem’s forehead. Both of them are pleasantly shocked when that’s all it takes to have them phase in— Just a few years ago, they still required some sort of dance for synchronization, instead of simply meshing seamlessly like Ruby and Sapphire did.

 This time, there isn’t even any Opal— the shape just quivers formlessly for a matter of seconds before both gems are forcibly shot apart. Amethyst is ready and manages to land on her feet this time, but Pearl still crashes face first, squeaking in pain when her cheekbone is punched against her skin by the water’s surface tension.

 “What’s wrong?” Amethyst asks, sitting next to Pearl, her eyes riddled with concern as the lithe gem rearranges herself into an elegant sitting position.

Her lover is staring off into the distance, the atmosphere filled by nothing but the sounds of their breathing and the sloshing of water.

 Then it’s like a switch has been flipped. Pearl’s back flexes like an unknown force has kicked her square in the abdomen, and her palms hide her face in despair. Amethyst’s eyes widen in surprise, not at the reaction—Really, she’s been holding back on her own session of crying, and she knows she has the skill to hide her weakness until Pearl doesn’t need her support—but at how _sudden_ it is.

  _“I can’t form Opal!”_  she cries, her forehead landing on her knees. “I can’t do it, Amethyst.”

 There is no answer, and Pearl interprets that as a silent prompt for her to elaborate. “I’m scared. Just…” Her arms begin to flail around wildly, punctuating her every word with mannerisms and gestures. “Just _why_ did this have to happen? _Why did she have to return_? What if Opal has four arms again? I couldn’t live with that, after all I’ve done for this, for _us,_ and now she comes and it’s all going to be ruined…”

 “Relax!” She says, her hands flying to Pearl’s back, patting and massaging. After all these years, and she still feels clumsy comforting her. She's just so sensitive, and Amethyst doesn’t have a flowery way to phrase things, and she permanently fears she’ll just add salt to the wound by acting blunt. “It’s just Rose. Just good ol’ Rose. I— I mean, sure thing, I didn’t expect it either, and—“  her throat tightens. “I also wanted Steve-o back, man. But I don’t see why this makes you so—“

 Her jaw falls slack as she _realizes._ She’s been so lost on Pearl’s affection for so _long_ , the memories before Rose’s first death have gradually faded, but now—

 Her face begins to contract in sorrow. Why? Why would she feel this way after all they have lived through? Was Amethyst still not enough? After they had _fused into one_?

 “You fear you’ll fall back in love with her?” she whimpers, and saying it is like dropping a stone in a still pond and she feels the waves of hurt break her calm surface and stir up her insides.

 Pearl’s face lifts up, flushed teal, her eyelashes matted with tears. “ _What?!_ ” she squawks, her tone nearly offended. Her head shakes so wildly from side to side the motion looks blurred. “No!! You’re my _mate_ , Amethyst. My life partner. The gem the universe has assigned for me to walk my path with. I’m not going to leave you. _Ever_. I need you to understand that, okay?

 “Argh,” she groans, and her slender palms run down her face, messing up her combed peach eyebrows. “You see, _this_ is what I feared,” she whines, looking down at her palms in sorrow. “I was _programmed_ to be no more than a servant. To blindly obey Rose’s every will.

 “Now I’m just afraid I won’t be able to resist it, and I’ll just go back to being her slave; and then you’ll feel like I never even loved you in the first place, or like I still think you’re no more than a Kindergarten runt, when you know already that I never even _felt that,_ that I’ve always known that you’re so much more... We’ve been over this, Ame, we finally beat this, and then she returns… I just…” her fingers run over her gem, the pearl aching dully with emotional exhaustion. “It’s like she’s back for the express purpose of ruining everything we’ve built for ourselves.”

 Amethyst gets the point, and her head bounces lightly up and down, bitterness settled in her mouth, thoughts of concern for herself and for her mate pooling in her head. “Yeah, I kinda see where you come from,” she begins, cursing herself for being so sucky at choosing words. She has the idea structured in her mind, but the channel to express it fails her. “But you really have such little faith in us you think it’s all over just because Rose popped back out of her gem?”

 That sentence sends a cold needle through Pearl’s figurative heart, and her gaze sinks, her hands finally settling down on her supple thighs. “I guess you have a point,” she admits, her eyes giving fleeting glances to the purple gem’s own. “Gods, you’re so right… I don’t know why I am so afraid. We’ve dealt with far worse than this, haven’t we?” she monologues, trying to encourage herself.

 A plump thumb flings a strand of her hair behing her ear, fixing the small curl back to its usual perfection. “Listen, babe, nothing has even _happened_ yet. Rose literally just popped out with no warning. She swept us all off our feet. Didn’t ya see Lapis? Don’t you think Lapis and Peri are having their own important talk out there while we have ours?”

 That manages to pull the corners of Pearl’s lips up by a millimeter. “Yes,” she says. “It gives me some consolation to know we’re not the only ones taken aback by this… conundrum.”

 Amethyst caresses up and down one of Pearl’s creamy thighs, and the pastel gem places one of her hands over the purple one, grazing its back, taking in the texture of her skin through her fingertips. “Don’t judge too soon, babe. Promise me that. Promise me you won’t worry until something actually _happens_ with Rose to make you so.”

 She nods, her gaze softening. “I will try my best. For your sake.”

 A lilac mane bobs around as its owner shakes her head. “Don’t just do it for me. I don’t want you to be all overwhelmed and stuff because you can’t stop thinking about… things. I know how caught up and wild you get when you start overthinking, so don’t do much of that.”

 That draws a snicker from her mate’s throat, and she rolls her blue eyes playfully. “Fine, then. I promise.”

 And that’s all it takes for Amethyst to be all over her, pushing her down on the waterfall’s flat surface, peppering her face with kisses, tickling her sides with her soft fingertips, so different from Pearl’s slender, bony own. Their lips meet, waltzing the way they only can when they aren’t conjoined into Opal. The chubby gem’s right hand travels up to her partner’s forehead, circling her gemstone’s rim with the tip of her thumb, and a pleasurable shudder shoots up Pearl’s spine, causing her arms to wrap around her mate in reflex. Wishing to correspond, she caresses Amethyst’s own gem, tracing the edges of the polished stone. The last of their worries dissolves, lost to the display of affection. The pastel gem has flushed teal again, but this time with causes _much different_ than crying.

 A raspy giggle hits her ear, the voice slightly lidded with need. “Don’t worry about not fusing. Giving ol’ Opal a break has its silver lining.” And, as if to prove a point, a hand squeezes Pearl’s buttock, making her jolt and squeak.

 “ _Amethyst!_ ” She cries, but it’s playful, and she’s laughing, and she’s wrapping her with her legs, the mouth of her geode opening eagerly, though, much to her chagrin, unintentionally. How long had it been since they had intimacy when split?

 Amethyst breathes another chuckle in the shell of her ear, this one laced with something else, someting Pearl knows much too well but hasn’t experienced that often since they chose to perma-fuse. “Is that a glowstick in your pants or are you just happy to see me?”

 Pearl can’t hold back a laugh, both from the lewd comment and from the ticklish sensation as her mate runs her full lips against the sensitive skin of her neck, the atmosphere of the room pulling off a mood whiplash.

 “I am quite happy to see you,” she whispers in return, and that’s the last thing she can manage before Amethyst pins her to the cataract floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 3.0 as of August 13, 2015.


	4. Sunday, Night (Rose Quartz)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! It's drama, angst, AND sci-fi! This fic has it all, I tell you!
> 
> Mirrors:
> 
> Tumblr - http://vsa---art.tumblr.com/post/125434084997/sunday-night-rose-quartz-day-7-ch-4  
> FF - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/4/Day-7

“Out so soon?” Jasper asks as Rose steps out of the temple.

  _Soon?_ Thinks the latter. It’s been a few hours at the very least. The sun was still out when she stepped in and now it’s early night. She observes Jasper with confusion.

 “What?” the other replies. “I was expecting you to have a lot to chat with your kin about.”

 Rose can notice her sclera’s slightly bloodshot, and her eyelashes are matted and uneven. _Has she been crying while I was inside_?

 “They weren’t very welcoming,” she deadpans matter-of-factly, finding herself guilty of using her psych war tactics to sugarcoat the weight in her chest to perfection. “Garnet insisted I don’t stay in the temple tonight for the sake of… _Everyone_ , so I am heading out for a stroll. Walking out now that the sun just set, coming back when it’s back up. Easy as pie.”

 “You’re in for a huge shock,” Jasper says, laying down her holo e-book chip and closing the screen with a clean hand gesture, her muscles undulating under her bronzed skin as she does. “It’s been seven hundred years. You know how fast Earth moves. Are you sure you can chew a bite that big, Rose Quartz?”

 Rose’s eyes narrow. She's is acting far too casual for the role she used to fulfill back in the day. _She_  was the one that had yelled to her face that she was the ruin of gem society, the base sustaining a tower of chaos and destruction. How could someone like that be so  _chill_?

 “What I’m saying is, you could use an escort to show you around, Rose,” she continues, digging for dirt under her claws after flashing her a toothy grin. There’s not even a hint of sarcasm on what she’s saying. Nope: she’s legitimately one hundred percent comfortable with them being up this close. _She really doesn’t care_.

 “That is a very kind offer from you, Jasper, but no thank you,” Rose replies, dusting her skirt off as if the mere suggestion is riddled with filth.

 “What, you don’t know about the old due tradition of bonding with your former arch enemy?”  Her ex-enemy says, flashing her teeth Rose’s way again, belly-laughing at her bewildered expression. “I am just fooling around with you. I couldn’t care less. Be sure to not just vanish forever, though. We could still use the gem to bring back Steven.”

 Why yes, Rose realizes. This is but another cold rejection. She senses there’s a genuine interest from the other to approach her, but _she_  herself finds she just can’t trust her enough.

 Then again, _she’s_ the outcast now. Were she to mistreat Jasper, they’d probably swarm her with weird looks. _She’s not a foe anymore_.

 Sighing, Rose walks towards the door, made of a metal alloy she can’t pinpoint with wire net screens—She still can't bring herself to ask what this append to the temple _is_ —. She doesn’t even bother to bid farewell, because, with this particular individual, it just feels _weird_.

 “You know, Earth has changed in many ways, but the custom to bid _adieu_ has surprisingly not changed,” she hears her say from behind. “The way Garnet and Opal always painted you, I expected you to be polite like the Quartz child.”

 Rose balls her hands into fists. The door has opened on its own with a mechanical _hiss._

 “Goodbye to you, Jasper,” she says, weakly waving a hand. “See you in the morning.”

 “Take care, and try not to get hurt out there.”

 She steps out.

* * *

 [Indeed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6CFhhW_aJ8), she couldn’t have been prepared for how fast humanity had advanced since she’d last seen it. They seem to finally have a proper grasp on solid light, holograms popping out in every corner, spewing publicity and information in several languages. Many of the humans wear a subtle headphone—possibly implanted in the tissue— she presumes is a universal translator, and their outfits are form-fitting, seamless and comfortable. Magnetic fields are traced in paths on the roads, and the ocassional automated pill-shaped pod zips by, aerodynamic and fast.

  _What happened_? The sidewalks aren’t even concrete anymore; they’re conveyor belts! Rose notices the citizens idly standing on the right, those who still wish to walk doing so on the left. Most of the buildings are either metal or a concrete blend she’s not familiar with, panels installed on the outer walls that change colors at a whim. It’s night, yet Beach City bustles. Is it even a small town anymore?

 Her steps guide her automatically to where the Big Donut used to be, and, much to her shock, the Big Donut is _still_ there. It stands white and clean. The outer walls have  a wavy pattern running across that is actually in _motion,_ undulating slowly. The huge, trademark donut of the shop still stands proud on the roof, over a hologram with a smiling, dancing pastry and a minimalist version of the logo.

 Rose is nothing short of baffled, and thick beads of sweat roll down her face [as she steps in](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBzfpsEyqeU), overwhelmed by _everything_ — by the rejection, by the changes in Earth, by the fact it’s not _her_ who’s supposed to be there.

 Two teenagers are on the counter, chatting. There’s no donuts on the shelf—instead it’s filled with small, dark packages a square inch approximately each, sporting the company logo and a flavor written in a warped version of English. _Just how much has everything changed…?_

 “Nighty nighty!” she hears, and her head snaps to look at one of the teens, a female whose cheery eyes are fixated on her. Rose can’t stop staring, though she knows it’s impolite; this kid’s irises are _magenta_ and her hair, tied in dreads, is _lime green_ and no traces of artificial procedures are to be seen anywhere.

 The colors are a stark contrast to her dark skin, and Rose can see what seems like _circuits_ in her irises. Are those contact lenses?

 “Lady, we’re about t’ close, so if you wan’ a donut, order soon,” the happy teen chirps,  and she pushes on an area of the counter, displaying a holo-screen. “What do you wish to have?”

 Rose shakes her head. “Do you have a glass of water?”

 The girl looks at her like she’s asked for something outrageous. “You sure, ma’am? I can offer you free soda if you want a drink. Seeing how much water _costs_ I’d expect…”

 It’s Rose’s turn to look baffled, but she agrees, attempting to shake it off. “Yes. That’d be okay.”

 The teen turns, flicking off the purchase screen, and picks a cup from a metallic shelf, going to what seems to be a massive dispenser, engaging in casual conversation with the other on the counter. He’s wearing a pair of glasses with red polarized lenses and his hands twitch occasionally.

“Quit gaming on the job!” The female says, snatching the glasses right off his eyes.

 Rose notices his are bright orange. “Wh—Hey! What’s your deal! I was nearly reaching the boss!”

 “Don’t game on the job, David,” she repeats, playfully. “Do it again an’ I’ll have you ejected.”

 He dismisses her with a _tsk_. “My job, my prob.”

 She presses a few buttons on the contraption Rose fails to understand and watches as a bright fucsia liquid pours into the cup. “I got a call from mom, all th’ way from Mars. You won’t guess what she said.”

 “Hm?” he replies, turning to look at her with interest.

 “She said she wanted me to go to uni on Mars! Don’t ya think that’s great? Weren’t y’all going there as well?”

 He nods. “That’s kinda the goal. Everyone lives better in Mars, what with all the newer houses and modern cities and whatnot.”

 She dances in her spot, excited. “I’ve even heard Mars has cleaner ai-ir. I can’t wait! We can move together t’Mars. Live on the same dorm.”

 He laughs. “Work on the same Big Donut?”

 Rose catches a glimpse of the teen’s teeth as she smiles, placing the cup in what seems like a small cryogenic chamber. They’re pearlescent white and absolutely perfect. “Wouldn’t be half bad. We wouldn’t needa watch that friggin’ training video again.” The chamber beeps and she retrieves the cup, placing it on the counter.

 The male laughs, picking a napkin from the counter. It’s not paper— it’s fabric. He takes the cup and hands it over to the gem with a friendly smile. “Your order, free soda on the house. Please don’t forget to place the napkin on the recycling bin so it can be cleaned and reused. Thank you for coming to the Big Donut.”

 “Closin’ in ten!” the girl sings from behind, dancing as she wipes  the counter and machinery on the back of the shop.

 Rose sits on a table. As soon as she places the cup on it, a splat of bright color explodes on the surface and tiny neon donuts shoot from the splat and bounce off the edges of the table. It takes her by surprise.

 Still sweating heavily, the gem takes a sip from the cup, the beverage inside refreshing and sweet, grounding her when everything else seems so ethereal.

 “You part of the Universe lineage?” she hears, and it takes her a while to understand the question is aimed at her.  She turns to look at the human, her head askew in confusion. The sensation of not understanding _anything_ is almost ceasing to be uncomfortable at this point.

 “What is the Universe lineage?”

 “Yeah, okay, you ain’t,” she replies with a laugh. “ _Everyone_ in the Universe lineage knows they are part o’ that. David here knows a chick in Beach City who’s from the Universe lineage.”

 Rose’s brows furrow mildly.

 “Sorry, ma’am. You jus’ seemed to be a Crystal Gem fan, what with the star and the belly gem and the hair of the mighty Rose Quartz,” the girl says, casual as ever. “We have tons of those in this town, yanno. They come here to see the monuments and ferry the sea ‘round the temple where the Crystal Gems themselves live. You know, I’ve met ‘em in person. They come here for donuts sometimes. I have their _siiignatures_.” She giggles. “People on Mars might have cleaner air but they don’t see the Crystal Gems all th’ time and give ‘em donuts. And _that_ I wouldn’t change, ma’am.”

 The small spiel feels like a swift kick to Rose’s stomach, her throat tight to the point swallowing the soda is painful, and she gulps the beverage down in one, two, three swigs, wiping her mouth with the napkin and cluelessly pacing around the store until being told where the recycling bin is.

 “Sandra,” she overhears the boy saying. “Get outta that uniform. We’re closing now.”

 “As y’say, my gentleman,” she sings, and lifting a sleeve of the skintight sweater with a smiling donut, she pushes a button, and Rose watches in awe as the colors of the fabric change color before her very eyes, turning red with a text emoticon pattern.

 Rose walks out of the store right in front of the two teenagers, who lock the door with a card and a code, and she’s left alone as they traverse the conveyor belts on their way home.

* * *

 [She wanders aimlessly through the rest of town](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d5lP-l3Zz8) for the remainder of the night, the cascade of information not really breaking past her skull as she paces the streets and sees them become emptier with the passage of time. _There’s humans in Mars_ , she thinks, but she can’t truly believe it. Humans _living_ in Mars. When did they build efficient enough spaceships? When did they begin _colonizing_? Are they hostile to the native environment, like gems were? Have they conquered other planets in the system?

 The city has expanded a lot since she last lived there. The streets delve into the sea, sustained by sturdy, but flexible poles, giving the impression the town floats over the water. She can still see the occasional pod surf over the magnetic roads, humans laughing inside; entire neighborhoods are settled over the water, lulled by the crashing of the waves. It’s grown so much Rose can only see the lights in the horizon, not poles anymore as much as floating bulbs that soar over the streets.

 It must be around four in the morning when her feet feel too sore with exhaustion, and she heads back to the temple. The walk is long enough for her to see how the sun rises, the sensors in the city nightlights lowering the intensity of the bulbs as the king of this solar system breaks through the darkness with a few golden rays.

 She realizes she hadn’t really paid attention to the current looks of the temple, and the fragile Earth rock has, indeed, surrendered to the cruelties of the atmosphere. The features on its two faces, so clear back in the day, have begun to blur under the erosion, and the hand where they used to wash clothing has a cracked wrist and is abandoned. Sapphire must’ve seen a future soon enough in which it’ll just crash to the floor, leaving the temple hand-less forever. 

 The gems inside have obviously tried to keep their sanctuary in the best possible shape, and Rose can see some thick construction wire in the areas they’re restoring. But the most evident change is the three new blocks of solid rock now guarding the temple, placed near the beach in triangle formation. Rose recognizes the aesthetics of War-era gem art in the carefully crafted sculptures. The entire structure is seamless, carved out of a solid block of rock, save for the gemstones embedded in the statues: A piece of jasper on one’s nose, a lapis lazuli drop in another’s back, and a shiny, natural peridot on the final’s forehead.

 The Jasper statue stands frontmost, casting a protective shadow over the house guarding the temple’s entrance, and the Peridot and Lapis Lazuli sit together behind her in lotus position, their blank eyes meeting in an intense, sempiternal gaze.

 Rose sighs. She sits on the edge of the beach, in front of the Jasper statue, and waits for the sun to finish rising, watching it with the same serenity she would seven hundred years ago. She’s now also noticed subtle gem runes engraved in the three statues; the three sharing a protective enchantment, while only Lapis and Peridot possess runes  in their chests with a spell that is intended to bring prosperity to mates.

 She does nothing but wait idly, almost as if she’s a statue herself, for a couple of hours, unsure as to how wide the exact threshold of the bad endings if she goes back to the temple is. How long is she supposed to wait outside?

 When she chooses to walk back in, the Jasper monument is already covering the house in her monumental shadow, as if protecting it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 3.0 as of August 9, 2015.


	5. Monday, Morning I (Homeworld Gems/Rose Quartz)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose accompanies the Homeworld-born branch of the Crystal Gems as they register her as a citizen and register her son, Steven, as deceased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more worldbuilding, simple but effective. Also, turns out the fic -also- has gem egg hell (I'm going to have to add that to the additional tags). It really has it all, guys.
> 
> Mirrors: 
> 
> Tumblr- http://vsa---art.tumblr.com/post/125485569137/monday-morning-i-homeworld-gems-rose-quartz  
> FF - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/5/Day-7

Lapis Lazuli stretches, easing herself into her Crystal Gem uniform in a flash of light. She’s been second to awaken, as usually happens when she and Peridot mate and end up dormant. She still can sense the lime gem’s scent wafting from the living room— Formerly the safe haven for Steven’s humanity— and, smiling, she summons the door to Earth and _dances_ out.

 She’s amidst a leap when her eyes open, and seeing Rose Quartz sitting on the counter is enough to break her concentration and make her fail the landing, twisting her foot in an unnatural angle. “Gods damn it!”  

 Peridot’s done nothing but roll her eyes at her, pushing some buttons on the display of a machine that’s pretty much a smaller version of the beverage dispenser at the Big Donut.  “Are you up for eating today, Lapis?” she asks.

 The ocean gem is flailing her foot wildly, checking on her ankle and trying to ease the pain. “Yeah. Milk coffee is fine enough. Thanks, hon.”  She plops herself down on one of the seats in front of the shiny metal counter, and does a phenomenal job of pretending no one else is there but herself and Peridot.

The aforementioned has opened a drawer and pulled a small paper bag, ripping it open and placing the contents inside the dispenser. She presses some more buttons to set it so the coffee has milk and goes to sit next to her mate.

 She’s wearing nothing but a tight fitting, sleeveless leotard with a pattern of yellow stars that _scroll sideways_ as she walks and moves. Rose has no idea how that even works, but it sure looks awesome.

 They engage in small talk, and Lapis notices the eyes of her mate drift to the third one in the counter as if she’s painfully aware of the fact she can suck in _all_ of the mating musk the two of them emanate. The pink gem herself still smells intensely of flora, and the mixed fragrance of lovemaking and plants is nothing short of overwhelming.

 The temple door flashes a couple more times, giving place to Garnet, Opal, and Jasper. Garnet goes to sit on the couch, her morning routine obviously finished before she stepped out the door—she’s even on her uniform already; whereas the younger fusion and Jasper are wearing leotards not unlike Peridot’s, though Opal’s has a slowly spinning galaxy and Jasper’s is a plain, dull dark red.

 Opal fiddles with the dispenser some more on her own and spins some knobs below the stove, next pulling a bottle of Insta-Pancakes from the cryogel fridge, pressing the button atop the lid and shaking. She opens the lid and pours the ready pancake mix on the ceramic stove.

 Jasper sits next to Garnet on the couch, sniffing the air, and she _groans_ , her face contracting in aversion. “Stars,” she blasts, making sure all of them can hear her crystal clear. “Did everyone here just agree to get hot and bothered last night? Because _gods_ , I can smell it all the way here. Goddamn _shower_ after doing the do.”

 Rose’s face becomes a dark pink, and Lapis does her best not to laugh at a Peridot whose face has flushed green. “ _Jasper!_ ” she whines, in a way it makes Rose remember Pearl disciplining Amethyst back in the day.

 “Wha?” the big gem says, standing up and commanding the door to open, then pushing the doorstop button so the fresh morning air of the beach rids the living room of the smell. “It’s true. Y’all and Opal are _reeking_.”

 “There is no need whatsoever to be so _blunt_ about it!” the techie replies, her floating fingers clicking mercilessly on the metal counter. “It’s not about the sentence, but about the _way_ you phrase it.”

 “Let her be, Peridot,” a silky voice resounds behind her. Even as gentle as the actual fusion is, Opal’s voice can’t help but have a little boom. “She probably feels jealousy because she hasn’t mated in so long.”

 She proceeds to wink and stifle a giggle, pouring some more incredibly precise shaped pancakes on the stove. One heart, one star…

 It’s Jasper’s turn to blush, and she does so _hard_ , the color creeping up to the tips of her ears and slightly down into her neck.

 Lapis slams her hand against the table repeatedly. “Opal wins,” she declares, laughing, one of her palms landing on the techie’s knee. “Don’t worry so much about it, Peri. There is a reason they’re called _mates_ and not _cuddlers_ or _hand holders_ or whatever.” Rose turns her head to look at the couch: Despite Garnet’s silence, she’s still smiling.

 The dispenser beeps and Opal gathers a coffee jar from the cupoard, pouring the contents into it. Solid light dividers keep the three different orders split and organized.

 “Black coffee?” she says, and Peridot lifts a hand. Soon enough, a full cup is resting in front of her.

 “Milk coffee?”

 Lapis nods and Opal pours the cup.

 “Finally, mocha latte,” she says, puffing her chest out and pouring herself a cup, then checking on the pancakes. They’ve been cooked quite fast, and the fusion gracefully picks them out and places them in a nice square plate, stacking them perfectly and generousy dousing them in bright aquamarine Venus Lychee syrup.

 Rose rests her forearms on the counter. “I would enjoy a mocha latte as well,” she prompts, gingerly.

 Lapis’ upper lip lifts in contempt. _How dare she still think she has authority over a gem that’s already mated…_

 Opal tenses visibly, the muscles in her back suddenly very marked under her lilac skin; her biceps and triceps poking out on what seemed to be such a soft, huggable arm just moments ago.

 Lapis understands Pearl and Amethyst’s current conflict. Her own mate used to have that same issue, conforming to Jasper’s every will without objection. Low class service or manteinance gems and agency are a very complicated… thing.

 When the fusion turns around, her irises glow with a unique _passion_.  She aggressively slides the jar towards her former master, her brows furrowed. “Treat yourself,” she says, her voice almost a growl.

 Rose flinches and straightens her back. “Pardon?”

 “ _Treat yourself_ ,” Opal repeats. “You have hands. Pour your own cup.” 

 Rose gulps, shrinking. Despite being huge, Opal is even _taller_ , the loftiest of the team. She’s lost her authority. Garnet has replaced her. She has no lady-in-waiting anymore. The way she’s subdued fills the ocean gem with satisfaction.

 She stares at the jar, ultimately resolving not to drink the leftover mocha latte.

 

 “Gems!” Garnet summons, standing up. “We have a busy day ahead. We have to get organized.”

 Lapis’ head snaps to her in attention.

 “What happened yesterday was unforeseen, _even for me_ ,” the leader continues. “We have to make some preparations to cope with its consequences. Rose is out of place in this world. We’ll need someone to register her in the citizen database, introduce her, and show her the general workings of the city.”

 Peridot nods, caught up in Garnet’s little speech. Lapis has always found it adorable how she just loves having work to do, even if it’s just a remnant of her days as a manteinance and recon gem, always loaded with activities from missions to menial tasks.

“Lapis, Peridot, Jasper, I’ll have you escort Rose around the city and register her as citizen and Steven as deceased. Get him a death certificate. Gov’t asks for those. And give her a tour through town. I sensed her have a walk last night, but I want you to truly show her around. Also, don’t forget to open her a bank account. We want her to be able to do her own purchases without needing a babysitter.”

 Now that the leader is finished, Lapis finally groans. “ _Really?_ You put _us_ in charge of Rose?” She’s sure Garnet is smarter than that; hadn’t she sensed her _fuming_ just the night before?

 “I have faith in your will not to beat the physical form out of her, Lapis,” the leader responds, unperturbed as ever. “And I have faith in Peridot and Jasper’s skill to stop you if you try.” She lowers her shades, winking her left eye to Peridot, and the green gem nods, taking a generous swig off her coffee. “Plus, Opal and I have to take care of more… sensitive matters regarding Steven’s passing.”

 Defeated, she groans and drinks from her cup, hoping the coffee will improve her mood.

 “Now get ready, gems. We’ll meet again tonight for debriefing.”

* * *

 

 The small squad is sitting in a transportation pod, and this is Rose’s first glimpse at what those look like from the inside. The material they’re composed off looks like white plastic or ceramic from the outside, but is actually transparent from the inside; the elder gem can admire [the scenic view of Beach City](http://tinyurl.com/qfvvhy8) from within. Peridot’s told her they’re riding on a cab instead of a mass transportation pod, since Beach City is a small enough town not to need such thing. Apparently, citizens own a card containing tickets and scan it with a sensor to pay for a ride, choosing a destination from a list of presets or inputting a custom address.

 The roof and windows of the pill-shaped pod are made of glass, and it slides so softly over the preset magnetic roads that Rose can compare the sensation to soaring.

 The walls of the houses change colors ocassionally, displaying murals, artworks, or animated pictures. People in all sorts of ouftits she doesn’t understand walk or stand in the coveyor belts to each side of the road. A woman wears what appears to be duct tape tied tight around her breasts, though Rose is wise enough to know it must be some sort of avant-garde fabric. Tight shorts and pencil skirts seem to be a trend, though she can’t really pinpoint any exact style, for most people dress simply the way they prefer. At one point they even pass a teen that stands naked, donning naught but shorts, a glowing ring around her neck, and a couple of neon green, star-shaped patches over her nipples.

 “What does it feel like?” Jasper asks, and Rose snaps her focus away from the town streets to look at her.

 Lapis and Peridot are chatting about some random past mission in the opposite row of benches. “What are you talking about?”

 “Well, looking at this place after not being here for hundreds of years. What does it feel like?”

 She shrugs. “Ethereal, like a dream. I was expecting to wake up as soon as I went inside the temple this morning, but alas, I haven’t.”

 “You can’t even imagine what _I_ felt after being stuck here. I didn’t have to deal with a few centuries, that’s weak. I was stuck here after five thousand years of not setting foot in this planet. And you know, worst part was everything _still_ felt outdated as hell. I still don’t know how we got Homeworld to go hide back in their sorry asses with that technology.” Her amber eyes narrow in reminiscence. “I think if it had been just your gems without Peri and I to help in the tech department they’d have been fucked real bad.”

 “Human technology of the nineteen-nineties was very akin to what I’d seen in Homeworld back in the day,” Rose replies dully. “Perhaps slightly more advanced, even. Humans were crude before gems arrived, but they fared well on their own after we gave them the initial push. Now they’re out of control. I swear, I don’t even know how half of this even works.”

 Jasper nods. Her fingers interlace. “Peri felt the same, only it was backwards for her. She’d been surrounded by fancy shmancy tech since she was made and didn’t get how the obsolete tech of Earth was supposed to be used. I think I kinda saved her life back there.”

 Rose’s thumbs are fiddling. She hears Peridot giggle, and sees her hiding her face in the crook of Lapis’ neck with the corner of her eye. “Who’s that green gem anyway? I understand she’s a peridot?” She asks. “We didn’t have peridots when _I_ was in the war…”

 “Yes,” Jasper answers. She’s leaning forward on the bench, elbows on her knees just the way she’d received her yesterday. “There _were_ no peridots. That runt is a thousand _at most_. She was but a gemling when she got the recon job here on Earth that made shit hit the fan.”

 There’s a second of silence while Jasper composes her words.

 “You remember how was it like when homeworld learned of pearls, right?” she asks, and Rose nods grimly. “The way they’d experiment to try and see if you could make gems outta pearl gemstones.”

 “I got my Pearl when I saved her from culling. She had a defective gem and that messed with her programming, so she was disobedient. I don’t know if she’s ever told you about all of this in the time you’ve been a Crystal Gem.”

 “Oh, I know all about Pearl and that runt Amethyst alright,” Jasper answers. “They’ve had a good run.” She shakes her head, returning to the topic at hand. “Anyway, homeworld liked the idea of cheap gems for manteinance and service a lot, so they began churning generations of pearls, you know, weak gems that were easy to mass produce, ‘stead of relying on letting gems multiply. I swear I don’t even understand why we were programmed to mate and reproduce by ourselves and then were told not to.

 Anyway, peridots were the newest generation. That peridot right there was a really smart techie. A highlight on homeworld ranks. She landed herself a job in the army as anything other that the kid that delivers the coffee or cleans the boots of the soldiers, and you know how much that means. Just imagine a high rank Pearl like yours was.”

 “She’s not mine anymore,” Rose answers. “She’s even mated.”

 “Oh, yeah," the other agrees. "Definitely not yours anymore. She’s moved on for hundreds of years now, so don’t even try and go up that alley. You lost her. She’s even tried having gemlings already, but her form was too battle-worn because of how much she’d regenerated for you and no cure or tech could give her the ability to baby-make back.”

 She observes her former foe and bites her lip in concern.

 “Yeah,” Jasper concludes. “Rough times. We don't talk about it.”

 Rose shivers and adjusts in the bench uncomfortably. “So what about this peridot?”

 “Ah, Peri,” Jasper says. “Peri sent a Red Eye here on a basic recon task and it didn’t turn in any results, so she tried making an in-person visit to the Galaxy Warp, but it was damaged. So she deployed Homeworld robonoids, droids made for menial tasks, to patch the main warp up."

Dark eyes widen in awe. _And she's just a service gem_?

 "Your team had marked the inactive warps, including the one Peri fixed, so she left fearing she was compromised, and began doing remote exploration to check on... _some things we don't mention_  on this planet straight from space. Your squad stopped her, so she was sent for another personal visit with an escort that had expertise on the matters of the First War.”

“That was you, I guess.”

 “Yes. It was pretty much the trigger for the Second War. _Lots_ of things happened the day we returned.”

 Rose can’t hold back a smile. “What a tough little Peridot. Starting a war all by herself.”

 A proud smirk slides into Jasper’s lips.

 The capsule comes to a smooth stop.

 “We’ve made it to the registry,” Peridot says, and the four step off the pod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 3.0 as of August 22, 2015.


	6. Monday, Morning II (Homeworld Gems, Rose Quartz) (6-1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A grim aura heaves over the entourage after the reality of Steven's death sinks in, so they choose to take a breather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually -half- of Chapter 6. Remember that "less than 3k words" rule? I exceeded it, so I decided to splice the chapter in two so I didn't grow so tired while editing. 
> 
> This one only has a ff.net mirror. Sorry! 
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/6/Day-7

[They sit again on a transportation pod, though this time it's much more grim than the first time.](http://www.youtubedoubler.com/?video1=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHMxUwTyz0hM&start1=0&video2=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpJGCIl_dt2o%26feature%3Div%26src_vid%3D-b00LLgGyTA%26annotation_id%3Dannotation_4269376685&start2=0&authorName=vsa)

Steven is already registered to be dead by law. He's deceased: His contact numbers and addresses will be erased to be available for other users, and the request to archive him as a late person has been sent to the Planetary Government of Earth, along with an e-letter asking for the information of his passing to be completely confidential until the Crystal Gems approve its broadcasting.

The human attendee in the office had nearly passed out when Rose had stepped forward to register herself as an Earthborn citizen and revealed her identity. She'd filled the form with shaky hands and offered Rose the "new citizen" starter pack—a cash transmission chip for virtual transactions and an attached bank account, a contact number, an ID number, and the universal translator for interplanetary travel (so she'd understand the Venus and Mars variants of several languages, among other destinations in the solar system)— with the giddiest of smiles. Rose had been too grim at the moment over the crushing realization of her child's passing to let the excitement rub off on her, though. She'd also been confidentially archived and the gems had left in ominous silence.

 _Choose your language. Elige tu lenguaje…_  One of Jasper's meaty fingers presses on the "English" button, and a list of preset destinations unravels on the mint green holo-screen. "So, where to first?" Lapis and Peridot are eerily silent, and Rose is too disheartened—and, if she’s honest to herself, too plain _confused_ — to have any suggestions.  

“How about a donut and a cuppa joe so we shake this off?” Jasper says, filling in the silence..

Peridot’s wiping a tear from the cheek of her mate, her effort to maintain her own composure painfully obvious. The waterbender is shaking, and Jasper can’t even remember when the last time she saw her this _fragile_ was. She almost wants to pick the poor thing up, not have her walk.

“That sounds fine,” Rose breathes. It’d be senseless not to expect the mood to plummet with an activity as grim as making it official that your son is dead, but she wasn’t expecting it to be so _hard_.

Why, even? She’d never met him.

 _Oh. That_ must have been why.

The ride to the Big Donut goes by in absolute silence, save for the ocassional muffled sob or heavy sigh.

* * *

 

It’s the first time Rose sees the Big Donut in daylight. [The place is bustling](http://www.youtubedoubler.com/?video1=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6hV9y6fHS2g&start1=&video2=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZJJEsj-r4kM&start2=&authorName=), happy humans savoring treats and giggling in conversation. It strikes the former leader as bitterly ironic.

They sit, and after a few minutes of quiet the girl with the lime green dreads and magenta eyes practically _hops_ next to the table.

“Oh! Hi there, lady!” she chirps, excited. “I see y’got your hands on the Crystal Gems! How’d you get to hang out with them in jus’ a day?”

She moves to the homeworld comrades before Rose can even concoct an answer. “Hey there y’all! Nice to have you around again. Say, where’s Steven? He never turns down a donut…”

Lapis grimaces visibly, and the girl’s smile wobbles. “Why the long faces?”

Jasper points her to lean to her ear, and the girl complies, though she doesn’t have to lean much with her size. Rose can see the dramatic transformation in her face when she’s whispered the news. “You can come to the farewell ceremony,” she concludes. “Just don’t tell anyone, and don’t bring along anyone but David. If you leak it to the media we’ll have you thrown in jail.”

The human girl nods, her eyes clouded. _Did Steven seriously know this teen that well_?

“So you’re Steve-o’s mama,” she says, licking her lips in shame. “Sorry ‘bout yesterday. I thought y’were just one of those fans we have all the time here in the city.” She lets out a dull smile. “Never did I think I’d get to meet the Legendary Rose Quartz. Sandra here to make all y’r donut wishes true.” She tips an air hat.

There’s no response, and the awkward tension escalates almost to a bursting point. “Y’all know what,” the girl says, the ringing in her voice lost. “Just order whatever. I’ll give it to you on the house. You’ve had a rough day. You need a breather.”

“There’s no need for that kind of courtesy, Sandra,” Peridot says. “You need the tips too. There’s no government giving _you_ a monthly quota as repayment for your services to the planet. We don’t have much to invest in, either way. It’s unnecessary on your part.”

The waitress rolls her eyes, trying _so hard_ to appear fresh after what she’s just been delivered. “Y’all been always so stubborn,” she says, a forced smirk creeping into her face. “Fine, but lemme get you a discount at least. I seriously don’t mind the tips right now. This is like a planetary tragedy an’ all that social crap. It must be pretty hard on you.”

“Yeah, there’s no denying that,” Lapis _finally_ says, her voice hoarse. She’s been quiet since the registry and her mate can notice the snot dripping down her nostrils. It pains her figurative heart to see her in such misery, even if she’s not far from the breaking point herself.

Sandra nods. “Want me to get you guys a box or jus’ individual donuts?”

“Four donuts would be fine,” Jasper answers. She and Peridot seem intent on not forcing Lapis or Rose to cope with these public relation situations. “Gimme a Citrusplosion and a soda.”

She purses her lips towards the techie. “A donut with lime frosting for me, and a Venus Lychee Jam for Lapis. Two sodas.” Her floating fingers are kneading the area right around Lapis’ gemstone, seeking to soothe her. She’s now laying her forehead on the table, and Rose can see the color splat and the little bouncing treats on the display once again.

“How ‘bout you?” the waitress says, snapping her back to Earth.

“Just give me the simplest thing you have. I haven’t eaten donuts in centuries, I don’t even know the flavors anymore. And a cup of that soda you gave me last night. It was very fresh.”

Sandra nods, composing the order out of several scroll-down menus, and applies a half-discount on the grand total of the purchase. “That will be five. Soda’s on the house. Wanna pay now or head to the counter later?”

“Now,” Jasper and Peridot intervene simultaneously, and a brief dispute takes place as both offer to pay for the purchase.

“You have a mate to sustain, Peridot. Please let me do this for all of you.”

The aforementioned sighs in desperation. “Fine. You pay. Urgh. Can’t even let me put two fifty,” and she mumbles some more nonsense under her breath.

“Rose, look at me,” Jasper calls, and said gem, so far lost in her thoughts, turns to look at her. She feels more ethereal than ever since her return. “I’m gonna show you how to use your cash transmitter here, so try to pay attention, okay?”

The human trinket stirs her interest, veering her away from her rumiations. She nods eagerly, looking at the transparent glass plaque Jasper has just extracted from her bosom. She didn’t expect any less from the brute.

“Okay, so first you push this button here to open the screen,” she says, pressing a small red sensor on the bottom of the plaque. It instantly lights up, displaying a menu that includes the options to make ‘ _holo-chats’_ , transfer money, and even display her citizen ID. “Now you gotta tap here, where it says _Cash transfer_.” And she does so, with her pinky finger, because the plaques are made for humans, and her other fingers are big enough to press two buttons at once, is she to use them.

“See this number right here? Pretty sure they showed it to you back at the office. This is your account number. Since we’re crystal gems we have five thousand transferred here on the fifth of every month. Says it’s a compensation for our services to Earth and whatnot. Anyway, you gotta hand over this number when people want to transfer money to you or whatever. Don’t worry, chips are encrypted so you can only use this account number through your personal chip and nobody can go spendin’ your cash.”

Rose nods, and Jasper touches her account number, with the convenient _Jasper Gem_ title just above, displaying two scroll-down lists, one titled _Public_ and the other _Particular_. Rose notices the names _Peridot Gem, Lapis Lazuli Gem, Pearl Gem, Amethyst Gem, Garnet Gem_ and, like a stab to her chest, _Steven Quartz Universe_ under the _Particular_ title.

“Particulars are regular ol’ joes like you and me,” Jasper says, snapping her attention back. “You gotta ask for their account numbers so you can transfer to them and they’re saved as contacts afterwards so you can just tap their names instead of typing the long-ass account number again. Publics are businesses, and everyone is free to transfer to those numbers, but they’re not accesible for purchases, so you can’t buy stuff with the Big Donut’s money or whatever.”

Rose can’t help but smirk when she notices _Big Donut, Beach City, DM_ right at the top of the Public list. Jasper taps precisely there.

 _Purchase payments. Donations. Transferred money by accident? Contact us,_ she can read on the device.

“You gotta tap on this one first. This one is the list of the stuff you owe to the Big Donut in payments. Sandra here already pinned our order, so check this out.” She dabs on Purchase Payments, and a tiny bill appears in fluorescent letters, listing the donuts and prices, and including a fifty percent discount. Below is a button Reading _Pay now_.

“If you have many bills and stuff, they’re listed here in order and you have due dates to pay them if you don’t have the cash at hand. After the first one you get an additional fine, after the second a warning, and if you fail to pay after the third the cops show up at your house and stuff. So yeah, you better pay before you leave the joint.”

Her sausage pinky lands on the _Pay now_ button and some settings appear, including the number of fees to divide the grand total in. “We don’t really need to use anything here right now, so just check everything’s to your liking and push on Pay.”

And, with a final tap, a green loading bar appears on the screen, the text _transaction in process. Please wait,_ flashing for a few seconds before Sandra’s holo screen emits a green light. Jasper’s plaque now sports the text _Transaction complete. Thanks for your purchase (^.^)_ , and she finally presses on the sensor again, shutting her chip off.

“And that’s how you buy things. Feel free to ask if you didn’t get something,” she finishes.

Rose nods. She’s understood every step. She makes a mental note to tinker with her own chip later.

Once Sandra leaves, Lapis’ head tentatively lifts from the table. “You ordered Venus Lychee,” she tells Peridot. “I love Venus Lychee…”

The green gem smiles, though it looks blatantly forced. “I know my babe,” she replies, laying a kiss on the crown of her head.

* * *

 

The wait for the donuts passes in stillness, the sun slowly reaching its apex; colorful parasols emerge from the center of the outdoor tables when it starts to get hot, offering a cool shade to the foursome. All this time, Peridot’s been gently massaging around the blue drop on her mate’s back, and the heat is becoming so overwhelming her gaze is lidded with exhaustion, her head tilting as if she’s about to fall asleep. Jasper’s bronzed skin is shiny, beads of sweat pooling in her brow, and Rose herself feels like she’s cooking under her dress, despite it being tailored for the beach weather. She shudders in comfort every time a gust of wind flutters by, refreshing her.

The order arrives and they eat quietly, Lapis’ gaze looking into some other past century, one of the corners of her lips dirtied with Venus Lychee jam, while Peridot is in this timespan, only somewhere in the horizon. Jasper seems rapt in her _Citrusplosion_ , a donut with orange frosting and pop rocks in the inside filling that Rose can hear crackling inside her mouth. _Such childish choice…_

The soda is every bit as sweet and refreshing as it was last night, and it eases her heat exhaustion. She finds it ironic that such a sorrowful day happens to be so sunny.

“You know, I have an idea,” the techie says, popping the heavy atmosphere. “We can go to the city aquarium. It’s a well known attraction and it has A/C.” Lapis’ eyes are still lost somewhere, and Jasper and Peridot communicate nonverbally, agreeing it’s a good choice because it also happens to be one of her favorite places in Beach City.

The corners of the blue gem’s lips pull up slightly. “Sounds good.”

She sighs in relief. “It’s a plan then. You’ll love it there, Rose. Steven used to say he'd been told you adored Earth life, and lots of fauna is observable in the aquarium.” At the mention of the man’s name, Lapis’ smile fades as fast as it arrived.

The pink gem shrugs. She’s sure the Homeworld gems have only been instructed to show her around so she’s distracted from whatever secret task Garnet and Opal are up to back at the temple. For once, she doesn’t want to go home. She prefers to just wander around town for several days.

“Funland would be cool too,” Lapis mumbles. “I bet you won’t believe how much the games there have changed.”

“Excellent idea!” Peridot agrees, mostly to have a reason to make her feel better.

“We’ll have more time to have you meet the hystorical part of town later,” Jasper says, her amber eyes stuck on the freakin’ pop rock donut. “I agree with my gals here we should have a breather today. We should be as relaxed as possible until Steven’s funerary ceremony. Just registering him as deceased is enough for a day.”

Rose winces, heat rushing to her face. “Seems fine by me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 3.0 as of August 22, 2015.


	7. Monday, Afternoon (Homeworld Gems/Rose Quartz) (6-2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Homeworld Gems show Rose the Beach City Aquarium in hopes to let off some steam after the heavy events of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second half of Chapter 6. I hope to explore more of the Beach City I've built for this fanfiction. I'm starting to seriously consider making it a series with many short multichapter fics, covering several points in the timeline. We'll see if I have the attention span for that.
> 
> Mirrors: 
> 
> Tumblr - http://vsa---art.tumblr.com/post/125637445617/monday-afternoon-homeworld-gemsrose-quartz  
> FF - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/7/Day-7

[The aquarium](http://tinyurl.com/oedeu7r) is nothing like Rose expected, and _definitely_ nothing like she remembered those to be. Back when she was first alive, sea parks were simply alleys of tanks filled with a particular species, the animals confined to a space of several square feet. She’d wondered if she could cope with that again, but then they reach the entrance to the _Beach City Sealife Park_ —conveniently placed on the part of the city built floating over the water that Rose had wanted to see up close so bad— and what she sees is merely a gate with a colorful holographic sign and some fancy escalators going down, several people with foreign outfits riding them. And she simply stares, confused, and follows the Homeworld gems like a lost puppy when they begin leaping down the left side of the escalators.

Just the entrance is beautiful in and out of itself. A cylindrical, solid glass (or is it plastic? What material is _that_?) tube envelops the escalators, offering a perfect view of the descent into the ocean floor. The clear—surprisingly clean—water gives place to an astoundingly colorful reef, fish swimming around and above the tunnel. Stone structures and statues have been built so the coral has a safe spot to grow and latch on to, and patches of reds, pinks and oranges dot the ocean floor.

“The city authorities said it was too dangerous to place the aquarium on the deep sea, so they built a safe space for the fish to live in right under the city,” Jasper explains, seeing the stars in Rose’s eyes. “Even the poles sustaining the city structure above are made so they can offer shelter and nutrition to the wildlife. Pretty cool, ain’t it?”

“I— I don’t think I can even _say_ anything right now, Jasper,” Rose mumbles, her pupils widening in astonishment as she takes in every detail of the view. Jasper stifles a chuckle.

They arrive to a ticket booth consisting of nothing but a holo-screen, and Peridot takes advantage this time around, affording the tickets for four adults. They are given entrance, and another screen asks if they would like to download the park map file to their devices, or if they’d like to take some free guide glasses.

“I have the file,” Lapis says, fervent. “even if I didn’t, I know this park by memory.”

It soothes the team to see color return to her cheeks.

“Remember the headphone you were given this morning?” Jasper says. “Put it on. There’s a lot of people here not only from everywhere on Earth, but also from other planets.” As if on cue, a family wearing matching _Here from your friendly neighbor VENUS!_ shirts walks by. “The thingy will help you understand what they say.”

Rose nods, summoning the small earpiece from her gem and placing it on her middle ear. Indeed, a lot of the mumbling she’s been hearing becomes perfectly clear English.

 _Humans have really made it all_.

* * *

 

The park is actually a massive, five-story cuboid the visitors can browse, made entirely of the same see-through material of the entrance. Staff are swimming outside along the animal natives, ocassionally caressing them gently or dropping flaky treats adrift in the water. Targets appear on the transparent walls, highlighting a certain species and offering information on them. Other messages flash on signs hanging from the alley’s roofs: _Find our fish of the day and earn a free meal of choice_. _Don’t tap the walls, it scares our finny friends (UnU). Don’t forget to ask about the pod tours around the park perimeter! Special discount if you’re a SeaFriend._

The former gem leader isn’t shocked _just_ by the concept of the park. This is the first time since her arrival she gets to see humans this close, and with _this much_ attention—Last night, everything was empty, and she was too dull at the registry office to notice the human fauna; just remembering it makes her belly churn—. They’re every bit as quirky as she remembers them, even if her memories feel hazy, like the visuals on a VHS tape. Some wear shirts that show region names she’s never heard of. _Martians exist, I’m one and I’m proud_ , says one. Another sports a picture of a crater, a smiling face on its center. _From Pwyll Crater Valley, Europa._ Others wear wigs or styles that are eerily familiar to those of her Crystal peers— One even dons a fake peridot stone on her forehead— _how’s she holding it up?_ —, while others use adapted versions of their uniforms, their names written in the back.

The celebrity status still gives her mild discomfort, but she figures that, much like everything, it must just be because she’s out of context.

 _He must have hit it off quite well with humanity_ , she thinks, and bittersweet joy creeps into her chest.

Rose observes a young woman walk by, light metal wires framing the skin of her legs, connecting to her spine underneath her outfit. Have they finally cured paralysis? She’s surprised once again when she notices an unusual seam in another person’s skin is actually a sleeve to cover up a prosthetic— it’d taken keen observation. Hell, just the sparse amount of ill people is surprising in and out of itself—She’s got to wonder how they’ve managed to cure so many ailments. 

* * *

 

Rose is currently tinkering with a screen planted near one of the walls stating _fishy friends near you_. She taps on a picture of a red and white sea denizen and a target appears about a foot to her left, Helvetica letters reading _clownfish_ , along with some information and trivia on the animal. She could cry of joy. Such perfect, educational way to use their science.

She turns and scans the hall around for her companions, finding an ecstatic Lapis not too far away chatting to a little, blue-haired girl, both absolutely thrilled about a small shoal of manta ray pups swimming nearby. Her gaze softens as the girl’s parents appear with a holo-pad, and Lapis poses next to her, hugging her close as they snap the photo. The father calls his child with a gesture of his hand, and she clings tight to the gem’s legs one last time before running away. Rose notices she has a small, bodypainted blue teardrop on her back, and she bites back tears.

 

Peridot walks next to her mate with a smile, carrying a dish of sausages cut into smiling octopus shapes, and the waterbender lays her head on her shoulder, picking one and savoring it eagerly. “Thank you for bringing me here,” she says, sighing. “I feel at home, even if it’s not even _close_ to it.”

Peridot smiles. Her arm lifts, one of her fingers following the trail of a vibrant yellow and blue fish. “What’s that one?”

She snorts. “You make it too easy. Angelfish, a member of the _Pomacanthidae_ family. You ought to try harder.”

One of the techie’s prosthetic arms lands around her mate’s slender waist, the other holds the plate with three fingers while the remaining two drift away to grab another of the sausage octopi and massacre it between her teeth. “One day I’ll find a fish weird enough to fluke your ichtyopedia.”

And Lapis laughs into the crook of her neck.

* * *

They leave the aquarium much later than expected, near closing hours, around five thirty. Jasper explains they always close down when the sun is setting so the fish can rest. Lapis makes a final stop in front of one of the walls, stealing last glances at the denizens of the deep.  They become more scarce by the minute, as they’re all taking shelter for the night. She lets out a sigh riddled with nostalgia.

[Muffled steps](http://listenonrepeat.com/?v=KWooB4tpQ9I#Cowboy_Bebop_OST_1_-_Memory) echo behind her. They’re nearly the only ones left in the aquarium; visitors are leaving as fast as the fish. She doesn’t need to turn— She can see Rose’s reflection on the wall.

“I see you are very happy here,” she begins, carefully stepping around any nerve. “I was concerned this morning after we left the registration office. You looked quite distraught.”

“You don’t say,” Lapis replies, feeling the taste of rust settle in her mouth, her eyes rolling. _After what you did to me, I really wonder why you care_.

She breathes again, and runs her slender hands through her face. “I like this aquarium. It’s filled with good memories. Steven loved it here, too.

“I know a whole lot about fish. The _reason_ _why_ is a story for another day though.” She shakes her head, dismissing the topic before it even starts. “We had this game in which Steven would take me to aquariums and try to point out a fish I didn’t know. We also played it with Peri.”

Her face contracts in sorrow. “I liked talking to the kids here today. Made me forget  about what happened for a while. Nothing’s been calm since Steven… Well, you know. Even while we thought he’d regenerate. Opal could barely stay fused.” She squeezes her eyes shut, refusing to shed a single tear more. “I just wanted to see my beach summer fun buddy again.”

Rose’s stomach drops.

“Gems!” they hear Jasper’s voice echo. “Hurry if you wanna make it to Funland before it closes. I wanna ride on the Pukemaster 2700.”

When Lapis hears her mate’s voice groan in disgust, she unintentionally smirks, and she begins running towards her fellow peers, Rose walking behind her with far less energy. The other two Homeworld gems are already far up the escalator, and Rose catches up with Lapis, grabbing her by the wrist.

She reflexively snaps her head towards her restraint, adopting a defensive stance. “Wh— _Don’t,”_ she growls, and she slaps Rose’s hand away. “Don’t you _ever_ grab me like that _again_.” She begins cleaning her arm with the loose fabric of her uniform. “What do you even want?”

“Listen, Lapis,” she says, recoiling slightly at her hostility, and the other is surprised at how _gentle_ her gaze is. “I know you and I have a rocky past we have yet to resolve, and I know I’m not really wanted around the temple, or  around you, your mate, or Jasper, or _anyone_ for that matter.”

The aforementioned cocks her hips. “Mhm.”

“But I need to ask you a question. And I don’t want you to answer it for me. Do it for him.” Her full hands stretch out to meet with Lapis’ in a silent plea.

“I gave my physical form to bring him to life. He lived seven hundred years while I was nothing but the magic he possessed, and my conscious was in a stasis. Now he’s dead and I never even met him. Never saw him. Never heard his voice,” she murmurs. “Please, Lapis, what was he like? Can’t you tell me some more about my son?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 3.0 as of August 22, 2015.


	8. Monday, Evening (Jasper/Rose Quartz)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose hears memories about her son for the very first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the 60 kudos! That's 60 more kudos than I expected for only two/three days of having posted this! *blows kisses at everyone* 
> 
> Anyway, I posted a revised ver of the fic and now I am about to go back and revise even more (thanks to the help of a kind user here on ao3 always pointing what to correct). I wanted to update for today instead of leaving it hanging before going back for fixes, so here's the first version of a chapter (aka, one revised only by myself), and now that I've continued the story a bit I'll go back and fix the... other things. *keeps sucking at english* 
> 
> Also, I exceeded the 3,000 word limit by a stunning 346 words, but there was no way I could trim it (leaving it without an intro would have felt too awkward).
> 
> FF.net mirror: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/8/Day-7

“Ah, your son, your son,” Jasper says, and she proceeds to chug down about a third of her soda cup.

 Rose doesn’t blame her. They’d made a bet and binged on an entire XXL hotdog each before taking three rides on the Pukemaster 2700, that turned out to be a roller coaster so extreme Rose was actually queasy after stepping out of the third ride, her legs wobbling clumsily with each step. But she’d survived. Jasper had retched a number of times, before finally announcing she’d victoriously held it in, while Lapis laughed her butt off nearby and Peridot observed them the way she’d do a gem cub.

 

  Lapis had said, _this isn’t a question I can, or should, answer on my own_.

 Rose had asked why, and the answer was simply, _because I’ll beat the mass out of you if we talk about this while alone._

So Rose had tried to forget about it while they visited Funland, and Lapis, in return, had promised her a moment of peace in the park’s hecticness to try and breach the topic.

 Steven must have rubbed off on the trio, for Rose felt she was walking around with a bunch of teenagers.

 They were charming, nonetheless. She’d had fun in the virtual reality maze and in the laser tag, —much to her embarrassment she did make a couple other bets with Jasper—, and she was shocked to find the ferris wheel still up and standing after seven centuries —it _was_ heavily restored, though.

 Then, they’d sat down, a few minutes after the fabled Pukemaster 2700 bet, and Rose had dropped the question the way one would a rock.

 “Well, where to start on the Quartz child?” Jasper adds after a few seconds of silence. “Summing up seven hundred years of boy in a few words is tough.”

 Lapis had ordered her first alcoholic drink of… _ever_ , really —Or, at least, ever since Rose had seen her—. It was her first encounter with modern alcohol, and it happened to be a neon blue cocktail that legitimately glowed in the dark. Glitter floated in whatever it was, specks of orange and purple light twinkling off them. Now, it was almost consumed.

 She takes a generous, finishing swig, her head retreating into her neck just after. Whatever that was, it was probably very strong.

 “He _was_ very kind,” Peridot butts out of nowhere, her magnetic fingers interacting with a primitive game of _Snake_ incorporated in the surface of the table— _is_ there a normal table in the city?—. “Very forgiving. I mean, he _did_ take us in. At our worst. When we were _irredeemable_.”

 Jasper gives a hearty laugh. “Earth wasn’t very noble to us. About as gentle as you expect a foreign planet to be to alien life, when that alien life has no survival equipment, or knowledge of the fauna and flora,—“

 “Or the knowledge of it is very limited and outdated,” the techie finishes. “It’s not like modern gem databases at the time had a lot of data on some planet they’d given up on five thousand years ago. Most of it was lost, or in some outdated format our computers simply didn’t support anymore.”

 “I tried to drown him,” Lapis interrupts, her eyes clouded. One of her fingertips circles the rim of the empty glass, that Rose believes is way too big for a cocktail. “And his human mate. And I stole the ocean. And intoxicated the saltwater. _And_ broke his father’s legs.”  She bites her lower lip. “Still tucked me in after _the incident_.”

 “He was the only kind one. The rest of your… _army_ tried to murder us on the spot as soon as they laid eyes on us. Your so-called small, defenseless, defective Pearl? About to stab me square on the nose once. They aimed for the gems. Garnet was intent on having me _shattered_. She wasn’t even content with a crack. What I’m saying is, they were pissed.” A swig of soda. “Your kid still stood in the way.

 “Point in case is, he had a knack for unconditional love.”

 Rose hasn’t realized her eyes are damp until now. _Of course he would_. _Of course he’d be pitiful of defenseless gems_. Noisy memories of herself rescuing a miniature-sized, hopeless kindergarten runt flash in the back of her mind.

 “There’s a lot of him you should be proud of,” Peridot says. “He was intelligent, a strategist. He had a point of view that outdid gem programming. Whenever the rest of the team found a dead end he’d think of something none of us could have imagined and pull us out of the conundrum with no difficulty.”

 Lapis grimaces. Her body sways back and forth slightly and Rose begins to wonder exactly _how_ strong that drink was. “He was better than you,” she mutters. “At least he played fair in the war…”

 Peridot’s fingers float to the glass with the cocktail leftovers and subtly pull it away. Rose has seen what Lapis can do with water, and it never ceases her to surprise her how someone with such powerful magic can have such a frail physical form.  She's now singing a tune about two friends, a boy and a gem, who play by the beach.

 Her mate has pulled her visor up above her eyes, and is now rubbing around the green peridot on her forehead. “Forgive her. She’s not been well since Steven was poofed. She wasn’t even this lightweight. That song’s one Steven wrote for her after she joined the Crystal Gems. They were always close friends. She was certainly the first one to earn the trust of your teammates.”

 Rose shrinks in embarrassment, glancing at the blue gem. Her head is smashed again on the table, not unlike the posture she had back at the Big Donut.

 “Also, forgive her for being so overdramatic.” Her voice lowers to a hiss. “Stop this immediately, Lapis. We’re all in grief. You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

 “But I miss him,” she whines, her voice slurring slightly.

 A bronzed hand slams between the two and Rose Quartz. “You have addressed Lazuli with this question far too early, Rose. I think it is better you and I have this talk on our own instead. After all, if we go by what just happened, you’re gonna have thousands of years to ask her point of view.”

 Peridot turns to Jasper, nonverbally thanking her forever for ending the awkward scene right away.  The orange gem signals Rose to follow her, and she does so more than gladly, not wishing to see crisis-stricken Lapis anymore.

  _Take her home_ , the Homeworld ex-commander mouths, and Peridot nods, prodding Lapis gently.

 “Let’s have a stroll on the boardwalk, Rose Quartz,” she then prompts.

 The soda cup is left alone on the table.

* * *

 

 They stop by the sea in a vantage point that Jasper informs is usually swarmed by tourists, but is now almost empty as people retreat into hotels or head to restaurants for dinner. They stand side to side, both propping their elbows on the handrail, staring at the swaying of the faraway waves and the warm tint the sunset dyes everything in.  To think two former foes now stand like this. Rose realizes her first day in a strange world is now concluding. She doesn’t know how that makes her feel.

 “So, ask away. Anything you want to know about your son?”

 “Aren’t you grief-stricken, Jasper?”

 “How does that ever have to do with Steven?”

 “You’re holding up too well for what just happened to you. You’re acting like nothing happened and I just crashed at the temple to stay for a few days.”

 “I am a soldier, Rose Quartz. I’ve seen many come and go.”

 Her bangs project purple shadows on her skin, and Rose never in her life expected the view of Jasper’s face to be so artistic, but turns out it _can_ be.

 She knows the feeling she’s been described much too well— She saw them perish by the hundreds.

 “I don’t believe it.”

 “What?”

 “That you take this so well while Lapis is so sad she’s ordered a weird- _arse_ chemical that got her tipsy in one glass.”

 “That _is_ a strong cocktail, you know. Humans have a rep for making bets of who can take a glass the size of what Lapis just took and not get intoxicated. They have sick ways to entertain themselves.”

 Rose’s dark eyes burrow in Jasper’s honey ones. “Jasper, I know war tactics just like you. Stop trying to cover yourself up by distracting me from the topic.”

 She growls. “Ugh, fine. Whatever. Yes, of course I’m sad, of course I’m goddamn sad. What the hell were you expecting? That the kid could just straight up die and I’d just wake up fine and dandy like a sunflower and be all smiles and rainbows and glittery bullshit?” She’s dotted her frustrated spiel with a silly ballet imitation, complete with limp wrists, and Rose finds it progressively harder to believe _this_ was her enemy back in the day.

 “Well, of course not. That’s exactly the point, Jasper. I didn’t wake up feeling—“ She opens air quotations. “ _like a sunflower being all smiles and rainbows and that glittery…_ garbage.”

 Jasper snorts at her self censor, before her features snap back to perfect seriousness.

 “Just ask what you need to know. At least the memories are fresh. I can still have some of him in my mind. And that weird salty smell he had on himself all the time, like he was a son of the sea itself.”

 And, much to Rose’s surprise, she _sighs_. A true, honest to the gods, sad nostalgic sigh.

 “I don’t have anything in mind, really. Just talk to me about him. Did you ever snap photographs of him? I just want to… I don’t know, Jasper. Know him as much as I can without ever really knowing him.”

 [She’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwHOW51b5uk) looking down at the sea, and when her eyes drift back to Jasper, the brawny gem’s own have lidded, her face serene in reminiscence. “I… I used to lift him as a weight when I first joined the Crystal Gems. He was but a cub. Such a small one. He’d giggle while I pushed him up and down. Pearl used to say he was a fantastic coach back then, so he’d also sit on my back and cheer while I did push-ups.” A dull smile flashes on her face for  a fraction of a second.

 “He was always so eager to learn, too.  Even when I was in my first days with the Crystal Gems, he’d always ask me about Homeworld or what I was doing or why I had come to Earth. It was like he was never sated.”

 Thick fingers pinch the spot between her eyes, right on the upper tip of her gemstone, and stroke in circles, the universal gem maneuver to soothe. “The kid was so naïve. I openly told him I was going to kill him if he was left alone by your teammates, and he still walked right behind me everywhere when he wasn’t bothering Peridot or Lapis with that exact same unquenchable hunger for knowledge. I even have to admit he bugged me at first.

 “You know, Rose Quartz, the day I did a heel-face turn was after Homeworld found us. A recon droid came to Earth and ratted us out on living with the enemy before we could destroy or hack it, and we were openly discussing how screwed we were on the kitchen table when he said something about how we could do it because we were all ‘strong in the real way’ or something like that.”

 Rose has been so rapt on the story she notices just now that Jasper is crying. It takes her another moment to realize this is the first time she’s ever seen her cry.

 A couple of the droplets have pooled under her square chin, gathering and ready to plummet and blend with the sea sloshing below. “The day after that he told me he’d like to learn to fight and be strong like me. I don’t even know what that did to me, Rose, but it sure did something, because nothing was the same again after that.”

 Her lower lip quivers, and the next sentences come out shaky, insecure, like her voice is trying to leave her throat and something won’t let it. “I’ve never had a mate or gemlings, Rose. I used to not care at all about it. Garnet is a pair of mates, Pearl and Amethyst mated, Lapis and Peri mated, and I always liked being solo. But your son made me feel like I had raised my own gemling. Even if we were all raising him at once. I felt like some of him was mine too. And then he grew and it came to a point when it was _me_ who was learning from _him_ because I was all brawn and no brains, and I think I felt as proud as those human mothers feel of their brood. I…”

 She can say no more: Rose observes as she lies her forehead on the handrail, outwardly _sobbing_ for the first time since she’s seen her. There really isn’t much she thinks she can do, except let her cry. The blend of the stunning sunset and the soundtrack of Jasper’s cracked sobs unsettles her.

 A few minutes go by on that state, until the whimpers become naught but disheveled breaths, and Jasper lifts her face. Indeed, her eyes are tinted orange as they were yesterday night. _Poor thing, she’s been trying to hold herself together for so long_.

 “I apologize, Rose Quartz. That wasn’t very informative,” she says, her face back to its usual fortitude.

 “Well, I think it was,” the other disagrees, her gaze turning to Jasper in compassion.

 The aforementioned scoffs. “I think I now begin to get why Pearl used to say all the time that you two were so alike. He used to make that same expression of pain whenever he saw any of us in a pinch.”

 Rose is torn between sobbing and laughing, and the resulting noise is formless and awkward. “She really said so?”

 “Yes. She’d point out the resemblance anytime she could, at least at first. It faded over time as the memories did, even more when she and Amethyst mated. She was too concerned and busy afterwards. You know how she is.”

 Not once in her life did she expect to be discussing _Pearl_ ’s personality with _Jasper_. Life is weird. “I do, though I never got to see how mating changed her.”

 “She was more of a bird than ever. Would walk all over the temple cleaning everything and squawking and make massive meals for Amethyst. She learned some chef-tier cooking. Did pancake art, seasoned everything until it tasted like heaven, all that sort of stuff. You know how mates look after each other, she’d do that for Amethyst and spend hours fixing her room up, and that was when they _weren’t_ in heat. Then she got this urge to have gemlings. I think it was because she was so maternal from raising your kid, she just wanted to snuggle against her own.”

  _Poor thing_ , is Rose’s first thought.

 “Being mated made her life a lot easier and a lot happier. It was almost funny, how quirky she’d be, chirping all over the house and the temple and baking pie after pie for Steven.” Jasper laughs.

 Rose is silent, but the other knows the question bubbling in her mind. “Don’t ask her about it yet, though. Especially the gemling part. It’s too soon.”

 Curiosity sated, the pink one nods.

 “It’s been enough for a day. Let’s head back.”

 Another silent nod, and the two walk off, awkwardly side to side.

* * *

 

 They arrive, and it serves Rose as a reminder that she needs to ask why the heck did they build a house covering the warp pad— only possible solution she can think of is Steven’s half-humanity, because if they intend to use it as a decoy, it certainly is failing.

 Jasper passes her universal card through a sensor in the door, and it opens with the same _hiss_ of always.

 The rosy gem steps in confidently, but the sound of an unfamiliar voice stops her straight in her tracks. No, it’s not the one that says _“Welcome home_ ,” because she knows it’s the AI Peridot has coded this very morning to welcome her whenever she steps into the house.

 It’s a female, young voice.

 Her line of sight follows the source, and she finds herself staring at a hologram… _seated at the counter_.

 Garnet has just muttered a curse under her breath. “Jasper. Couldn’t you have held on to Rose a little longer?”

 “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would take this long to…”

 “Great. This wasn’t supposed to take her by surprise.”

 Rose notices aside of Garnet and the hologram, Pearl and Amethyst are also sitting at the table, and their task of filling a checklist on a screen has been interrupted, as well. 

 She fixes her attention on the hologram—A tan woman around her twenties, her long, wavy, dark hair tied into a kempt braid hanging loosely over her right shoulder. She’s wearing a pretty generic human outfit, tailored currently to be in the shape of a sundress. The quality of the hologram is so high, Rose can actually notice the freckles dotting her cheeks and the bare left shoulder.

 Her _nose_ , though, and those _eyes_ ; the rounded jawline, the puffy cheeks, they are all _eerily_ familiar—

 “What is going on here?” she asks, and it’s like she’s asked it with her vocal chords only, not really processing it with her brain.

 Garnet sighs. “I fear a ‘bad’ future has occurred in which Lapis Lazuli couldn’t hold her drinks properly enough to keep you away and relaxed while the weight of preparing Steven’s funeral ceremony laid unto Pearl, Amethyst and I,” she calmly answers, though her body language denounces her serenity as fake.

 Rose sighs, her earlier assumptions confirmed. She understands why they wouldn’t want her there, though— it’s hard enough being in a strange planet in the far future. She, too, would have preferred herself to focus on learning the mechanics of the world than sticking around the heavy atmosphere of preparing a burial if she were in Garnet’s place.

 “Alright, fine and dandy, but I really want to know who digi-chick here is, and why she’s involved in gem affairs,” she says, swaying her hands in circles around the hologram, and the young adult’s face is inexplicably hurt by her words, her face constricting into a light grimace. “ _And_ I would also like to know why she looks so much like _me_.”

 Garnet opens her mouth, stretching her jaw, and one of her hands kneads the muscles on the side of her face. “That’s because she’s your granddaughter,” she responds, blunt. “She’s coming for lunch tomorrow and will be around these parts to join her family in mourning while we bid farewell to her father.”

 Rose’s jaw drops open, her eyes wide as saucers. A flock of birds has just nestled on her stomach, tingles run through her hands and feet like a colony of ants; cold sweat pools in the folds of her artificial skin. “What?” she whispers, though her physical form struggles to do it, as if the air has been kicked out of her lungs.

 “That’s right,” Pearl says, standing from her own bench in front of the counter and nonchalantly walking to the former leader, and the offspring of her offspring. She places a hand atop the hologram’s bare shoulder, fresh as a watermelon. “Rose, this is Europa Quartz Universe, Steven’s second living daughter, and the forty-fifth founder of the Universe lineage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 3.0 as of August 22, 2015.


	9. Monday, End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Rose go sword fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa!! I finished a day with an astounding 90+ kudos and over 1k hits! I insist, this is nowhere near what I expected when I started this fanfic. Thank you all so, so much.
> 
> FF.net mirror: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/9/Day-7

 Pearl gives one last scan to the checklist on the holo-screen, making absolutely sure she and Amethyst have contacted each and every single branch of the Universe lineage. Europa and Io had both promised to inform their own core families— Europa had yet to have any children, and her mother had also passed away during childbirth, but she had a special someone; Io was married and had already had three children— and the closest family members within their own reach, but Pearl fears _any_ family will miss the news. It wouldn’t be hard, with how _huge_ the pack is at this point.

 The ceremony will end up being massive. Pearl doesn’t just deduce it—she _knows_. Universe lineage reunions grow larger by the decade, and every single time grandpa Steven is introduced to the newest additions to his legacy. It constitutes a problem, being how the Gems have planned an informal gathering atop the hill, right next to the lighthouse, where they would simply place the bubble with his smoke and ashes in a ceremonial statue next to the grave of Gregory Universe. Speaking of which, she, Garnet, and her mate should be working on that effigy right now. _Especially_ Amethyst and her, given they had more… _expertise_ on funerary Gem crafts.

 Her thoughts are cut short by the sound of someone leaning on the marble table, and she flicks the screen off, ready to be nagged by Amethyst on how she should be resting after the heavy day.

 “Hello there, beautiful. Winding off after all that work today?”

 A shiver shoots up her spine, and she cringes. It isn’t her.

 Back in the day, that game would always work— Rose would walk up to her, fling her a flirty line, and Pearl would reply; and they would pong flirting back and forth until things got heated and Rose would tell her to chill, leaving her sweaty and with a glowing, needy geode.

 Not so much just now. The pearl on her forehead glows and a ring materializes in a shiny bubble, her fingertips catching it midair just after. “Watch who you try to charm. You flirt with a married gem,” she says, and the ring is slammed on the counter by the palm of her hand, next being exposed so Rose can see the twinkling of the big amethyst right in the middle.

 She can guess by the other’s silence that Rose is just staring at the ring, befuddled. “ _No way_ ,” she hears her whisper.

 “Yes way,” she replies. “So I ask you don’t play your little game anymore. I have another partner for that type of ministrations.”

 “No no no, I wasn’t talking about that,” Rose says, her voice like silk. “I just— I mean, is this really an engagement r—“

 The lithe gem looks up in an ancient frustration. “It was all Steven. He bugged us until we wed. He’d play that Frank Sinatra song _over and over_. You know the one.”

 “ _Love and Marriage_?”she says, laughing. “Oh, what a classic. He knew his persuasion techniques quite well.”

 Pearl hasn’t turned to look at her once during the entire conversation. Rose sees her shoulders shake with a giggle. “He won Garnet over somehow. He was always her weakness. So eventually one day they just arrived with these rings that had an amethyst and a pearl, and told us to get ready to marry. I was _really_ angry, as you may have imagined. I was well enough without the silly human rite. Being mated is enough to me. But, well, it wasn’t enough to him, so I just complied.”

 “And… that’s still going?”

 “Yes. Turns out the government of Earth is very kind to wed folk, so we agreed to keep it going. It’s been around four hundred years since then, and here we are.” She sighs, but Rose can’t see her happy smile. “It was a strange wedding. Garnet tried to mix human rites with gem rites and have us wed _and_ mated. It had a fusion dance and everything. Jasper cried. She denied it when Steven questioned her about it, though.”

 The former Crystal Gem leader is openly laughing next to her, and though her laughter still rings like bells, Pearl finds it means nothing to her. “Oh boy, sounds like a fun time.”

 There’s silence. Rose still can’t see her face.

 “Pearl?” she asks, and her voice is suddenly laced with sadness.

 “Tell me,” she says, recurring to the way she’d respond while awaiting orders by reflex. Much to her chagrin.

 “I’m glad you found love.”

 The lithe one bites her lower lip, fear creeping below her skin at the surge of warmth the comment makes her feel. “Thank you. She’s pretty much my life now. I eat for her sometimes. _Eat_.”

 The pink gem chuckles in a way that’s so Steven-y it makes her throat tighten. “Let’s go swordfighting, Pearl.”

 She jolts in surprise. “What?”

 “Yes. You, me, two swords, the arena. Like when I was training you. Come on.”

 She doesn’t know why she follows. Maybe because she was programmed to do so, even though the thought that they have yet to make Steven’s burial effigy is swarming her mind.

* * *

 Rose’s sword is bigger than her own weaponry, but [she pleasantly finds she has outdone her former master.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81m8_5mccgA) The big gem swings on her direction, and she slides on her knees, flawlessly pulling a masterful dodge, jumping to her feet just after to block her retaliation, the metal clashing and leaving an echo bouncing off the columns of the arena.

 She notices strands of her opponent’s pink hair sticking to her face, her expression inadvertedly—and, most likely, unintentionally—aggressive as she swings her sword like mad, desperate to land a hit. She’s struck the floor so hard she’s left gashes on the surface on a couple of occasions, the metal of her sword actually wobbling.

 In less than a fraction of a second, Pearl stabs her blade on the handle of the pink one’s sword, flinging it out of her grasp; the weapon bounces brusquely on the dusty floor of the arena. She thrusts her hand, but Rose has summoned her shield, blocking her openings, walking backwards to retrieve her own weapon.

 Although she doesn’t like the camaraderie she’s having with this _particular_ gem at this _particular_ moment, the pastel one has to admit she’s enjoying fighting something other than her holograms. She’s promised herself she wouldn’t let her skill rust, but having an actual opponent and not training devices is something otherwordly.

 Steven would occasionally play with her, inviting her to the arena slow sunday evenings so they could spar on the setting sun, but he’d grown so committed to his family there was gradually less and less time for them to engage in such activities; and though fighting a whip _was_ another degree of fun—she’d never grow tired of her mock-battles with Amethyst—and she’d entertain herself _plenty_ with Lapis’ waterbending and Peridot’s modern tech in tag team training, she couldn’t deny herself the pleasure of going back to the basics.

 Her mulling has distracted her for just enough to have Rose try and topple her by throwing the shield, and she jumps, leaving a cloud of dust behind, spinning in midair— _where’s the fun if you can’t make it look stunning?—_ , and landing flawlessly a few feet behind her master. Rose scanning her surroundings is all she needs— soon enough, she has the tip of her sword planted on the crook of her neck. “Touche.”

 The pink gem recoils in surprise, then laughs, then crashes her shield against the floor in mock frustration. “Gods damn it, Pearl! When did you even _get_ this good?”

 The dancer thoroughly enjoys her results against Rose—three victorious matches versus Rose’s dramatic zero. It gives her a vague sense of empowerment. _I’m not your servant anymore_.

 The bigger one fans herself, her skin glinting in the moonlight. “Okay, give me a breather and _then_ I’ll show you who’s boss,” she says, walking towards the steps of the arena. 

 She gracefully spins her sword in her hand, having it land on her shoulder. “Go ahead. We have until Amethyst wakes up for me to prove I’ve bested you.”

  _Such insolence_ , she thinks, suppressing a giggle.

 “Come sit with me,” Rose prompts, and she thinks of saying no, but her own knees complain after the extensive battle. What can she say? Two wars and seven hundred years _can_ get you a little battle-worn…

 And so, she does. She gracefully takes place next to her mentor, at a quite respectful distance. She’s dignified enough to be a hundred— _three hundred_ percent loyal to her mate. As much as the thought creeps on the back of her mind, she refuses to let herself believe she’s done it because she wants to resist temptation—because there _is no_ temptation. It’s almost as if she’s conditoning herself out of her own paranoia. As much as her sight traces Rose Quartz up and down, she feels not the slightest speck of desire.

 Amethyst’s words of reassurance from the day before return to front page. _Nothing has happened_.

 “So… forty-five children, huh?” The rosy gem says, and Pearl suddenly understands that, even if they’ve had some healthy fun, she most likely invited her so she could talk to her about this. She wonders why _her_ , though.

 “Forty-five indeed. I helped raise all of them,” she says, suddenly very interested in the seams of the ancient stone tiles on the arena’s floor.

 “Oh? Why did you?”

 Pearl isn’t stupid. She knows Rose is just carefully prodding around something she’s curious about. She’s used this approach many times in the past, when wanting to ease her into speaking her feelings.

 “I raised your son, Rose. I just felt a maternal dedication for all of _his_ offspring after having watched _him_ grow. It was only natural. It was my duty.”

 “Steven was very much alive when he had his children,” her mentor says. “There was no need for you to get involved.”

 Pearl jumps in place, indignated. “Pardon? Are you implying I did wrong helping _my—_ “ she stops in her tracks, shaking her head side to side. “—I mean, _your_ son raise his children?”

 Instinctual fear that she’s stirred the anger of her master blooms in her chest, and it _explodes_ and goes out of control because what if _this_ means she still loves her and that’s why she cares so much and she’ll go back to slaving over her and—

 “I don’t think you did any wrong, I am just asking _why_ you helped with his children.”

 “He needed the help. When he had Rose Universe-Maheswaran, a war was looming. Some of his children grew amidst the war he was _leading_. He couldn’t be pampering to them—“

 “Oh? _Did_ he? Did _Europa_ need help being raised as well?”

 Pearl’s jaw falls slack, her eyes huge with fear and pain and scorn.

 “My Pearl,” Rose says, trying to allure her, one of her hands reaching out to the lithe gem’s hair. It’s slapped away in exasperation, said gem wiping her bony hand in her uniform as if she’s touched something gross just after.

 “I already told you to _never_ call me that again, and I hope you do, or I won’t doubt never flinging a word your way again. Not even for a second, and no matter how hard you plead.”

 Rose has recoiled. It’s as if she forgets how sharp her protegée can be, and said protegée is sure she won’t fear showing her as much as she needs to.

 “Okay, then, just Pearl,” she repeats. “Are you sure it wasn’t maternal instinct for _something else_?”

 She knows Rose isn’t finished yet, so she waits, ready for the blow to be delivered.

 “Was Steven the only one to have children while I was gone?”

 The pastel gem feels as if her heart has just been _stabbed_. Not just any stab, though. Something worth one of her spears, or a wide sword.  _How’d she know? Who told her? Was it Jasper? Peridot? Was it Lapis? Who???_

No. No, no, no. Rose can’t know of this yet. She can’t know the whole story.

 “Yes,” she says, but tears are prickling the corners of her eyes, and she _really_ hopes her former mentor understands that as a consequence of her reminiscence for the boy, and not as a lie.

 The eyes of the pink one narrow, but she lets go with a simple _hm_.

 Pearl lifts herself off the floor, trembling, and a shaky hand grabs her sword.

 “What, up for a match so soon after sitting?” Rose asks, as if the conversation never happened. So clever when it comes to manipulation.

 “N-no,” the lithe gem replies, frustrated at how hard she’s failing to keep her composure. “I am leaving… to check on Amethyst.”

 “It’s still night. She must be sound asleep. She’s always slept at night, even when we’d just found her.”

 “I would like to join my _mate_ in our chambers without a third party objecting or interfering, _if you may_.” Her whole body has tensed to such extent it almost hurts.

 Silence.

 “Sure, okay.”

 As she walks to the Warp Pad, an _it was fun swordfighting with you_ echoes behind her.

 

* * *

 She doesn’t lay next to Amethyst as much as _throws_ herself towards the shorter gem, waking her up, and the purple one’s disconcert shifts to concern at the speed of lightning when she feels warm moisture against her chest. “Babe?” she asks, her voice hoarse as voices tend to be when one has just woken up. “Babe, what the hell?”

 “Remember what you said?” her voice is squeaking and cracking, and Amethyst’s worry escalates by the second. “About me not worrying until something happened with Rose?”

 “Yeah. I do. What’s wrong? What’d she do to you? What happened?”

 “Rose asked me if _I had kids_ ,” she says. Her mate can see it, the way she’s clutching her lower stomach like someone has just hit her there. “How’d she know about it? I…”

 Amethyst’s trying hard to keep her cool. She’s really trying.

 She lies back down and next to Pearl, wishing for once her mate wasn’t so expressive in her mannerisms; seeing her break down like this doesn’t aid her inner turmoil. “Did you tell her? You know? About _them_?” she puts a special strain in that final word.

 The lithe one waves her head _no_. “I hate this, Ame. Can’t we have _one_ _child that doesn’t die?_ First we lose _them_ , now we lose Steven… What next? We lose each other because Rose’s back? _What next_ , _gods damn it_?!”

 “Chill,” Amethyst says, though she’s really telling that to _both_ of them. She, too, feels the pit on her chest when they’re talked about—so bad, in fact, that mentioning them is banned from the realm of the temple, unless they are commemorating an anniversary and standing next to the two funeral statues that sit on an append of Amethyst’s room holding teal bubbles.

 “I’m going to need you calm down, okay? It happened a long time ago. I know it was bad, I know you remember and it makes you sad. But you can’t fix it. You can’t bring them back, you can’t bring Steve-o back, _we_ can’t have more kids. So it’s time to let go.”

 “ _Opal_ was what let _me_ let go,” the other replies in a frenzy, her emotions wreaking havoc. “ _She_ was our next step to not feeling so alone. And now that Rose is back we can’t even be _fused_ properly. _Don’t_ you expect me to just chill, Ame. Not now of all times.”

 “Yeah, okay,” Amethyst retorts, feeling herself on fire. “We’re going through a bad time. So what? We’ve had tons of those before. We were on one when you guys found me and I was literally a feral cat in the body of a gem. We had one when Rose first left. We had another when the second war started. Are we dead yet, Pearl? Have we given up?”

 “No, but I swear to the gods I’m going to give up if—“

 “No, silence,” she interrupts. “The _no_ part is the one that matters. We survived two wars. You raised _me_. You turned an animal into a full-grown gem. _Then_ you raised a kid and then, _his_ kids, _and_ two gems. You survived the death of the master you were programmed to serve, got over her and made your own life. So I’m not gonna let you be a blubbering mess just now.”

 The pastel gem just groans in frustration. “ _How on Earth can you be so level-headed after what happened to us???_ “ she hisses.

 And her mate scoffs, bringing back all that spunk and sarcasm from earlier days. “ _Me? Level-headed?_ Pearl, you can’t know what _I’ve_ been thinking since this happened. You’ve only felt what Opal felt, and I’ve kept my cool because I want to take care of _you_. I’m always lookin’ after you, because that’s what mates do. But I’m suffering. I suffered when we lost them and again now that Steven’s dead. If you’re thinking about how it reminds you of the first time we lost children, then yeah, me too. I’ve been remembering _them_ nonstop since this shitstorm started,” she rants.

 “But we’ve lived through two wars. We were in _the middle_ of one when _they_ died. Steven lost some of his kids to war, and he lost even more to _age_. Hell, he lost the one human partner he could have _flawless fusion_ with to old age. Yeah, remember Connie? And he still let go, even if it hurt.”

 Pearl’s just observing her, teary-eyed.

 “So I get it, okay? I get what you’re feeling and I’m gonna let you cry, but I need you to stop saying bullshit like how our lives end here or whatever. _I_ have faith in us. And I’m gonna need you have some, too.”

 The lithe gem says nothing, instead she just squeezes her partner so tight Amethyst feels air leave her lungs, burying her face in the crook of her neck, the tip of her nose tickling Amethyst’s skin. “Thank you, Ame. You always know what to say.” It’s muffled, but it’s all the short one needs to hear. She places a pair of kisses atop Pearl’s short mane.

 “Now just sob all you need and sleep it off, okay? I’m just gonna wait until tomorrow to ask how the hell did you and Rose start talkin’ about kids.”

* * *

 She watches over Pearl, occasionally humming lullabies, until she’s fast asleep. Despite how creepy it might seem, it _is_ rather nice to watch her rest, whenever she actually agrees to it; her sharp features softened by the mystic light of the crystals in her room.

 Amethyst has flipped her unto her backside, observing the projection her gem is making on the fabric roof of their shared bed.  There they are, the two of them; a couple of tiny gemlings sitting between both, chirping and squeaking.


	10. Intermission I, 2400s A.D.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audience, get some snacks and use the bathroom while you can before walking back into the theater for Act II. 
> 
> (A flashback into the past.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A look into some of the stuff Rose doesn't know about the past of her team. (Jasper hasn't even come close to telling her everything...)
> 
> I'm still revising the rest of the fic, by the way!
> 
> FF.net mirror: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11411978/10/Day-7

 “They’re hatching!!! They’re hatching!!!”

 That's all Pearl has to scream, completely uncharacteristically of her, for the Crystal Gem family to gather around the coffee table, where a basket filled with blankets and a heating lamp have been nursing two fertilized geodes—The only two there were.

 Truth be told, two gemlings out of a brood of nine— and out of around thirty geodes, spanned across three broods— would’ve been considered a miserable fertility rate in Homeworld. It was precisely because of the drop in conception after the rebellion started that they’d developed the tech to make Kindergartens and asked gems to _please_ stop spawning youth on their own.

 But Pearl and Amethyst had tried _thrice_ , their hopes going up along their sex life when the heat times started. And _those_ were lucky— those three times were the sole three in which Amethyst’s seed had ever made _something_. Pearl had tried being the giver and not the carrier, as well. It hadn’t resulted in anything, not even once— As if Amethyst was simply not designed to carry gemlings.

 Sometimes, Pearl wondered why they were so ineffective when it came to making children. Amethyst was literally made of a synthethized version of the very seed she’d been implanting into her with every heat. Maybe it was because she was a kindergarten gem? Maybe since she’d been a runt or gestated for too long, that had also rendered her sterile? It couldn’t be easy for two defective gems to multiply…

 Though, she still doesn’t think putting all the blame in her mate and her fertilization skills is fair. She _knows_ her gem is oval instead of round, the main motive behind the disobedience to her programming that had made her re-coded to serve Rose Quartz back in the day, and she’d also been told that an imperfect gem could mean problems in her physical form throughout all of her lifespan; and _then_ there was he amount of times she’d regenerated during the first war— Really, it was like life had made them both so they could not have any children.

 Given her poor history with gemlings, she’d outwardly cried in happiness when, while laying the third failed batch of progeny, she’d felt a particular geode that refused to slide off easily. Unfertilized geodes didn’t pass an inch and a half of diameter, and slid out with no major problems, but _this_ one had proven quite hard and painful to push.

 Amethyst, who was _always_ there to check on their dead offspring—regardless of how much Pearl told her not to, to spare her some of the suffering—had looked at her with what seemed to be a glimmer of hope, and she’d ran for Peridot, begging her to scan her partner’s abdomen for any signs of life.

 Peridot herself couldn’t hold back a _holy shit_ when, while using the flat surface of her hand to improv an ultrasound, she’d picked up signs of life. Two geodes—Just two. The rest of them were dead as always; Pearl still cried of joy until her eyes stung.

 They’d summoned the rest of the team to accompany Pearl during laying those particular two that were still alive—except Steven, to her request and much to his dismay—. None of them could claim ever being in the situation, but knowledge pieced together and a scan through Peridot’s databases on gem reproduction seemed enough to help the eventual mother out.

 Out of due respect, Amethyst had been the one to pick up the marble-sized, unfertilized geodes, incinerating them in the burning room. She preferred her mate bask in the joy of their future children. They’d be so lucky, too—One for each of them; one that looked like a massively oversized pearl, vaguely tinted teal, to signal who it was birthed by, and another with a vibrant purple shell, denouncing who had concieved it from miles away.

 And now, Pearl thinks, seeing the two geodes squirm in the basket, [they’re finally hatching](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFlKxfhMYls). There it is: The very confirmation they’re alive. She’s been dreaming, both consciously and subconsciously, about what the little spawn will look like. Will either of them inherit her schnozz? What about Amethyst’s lips? She wonders if the tiny amethyst will turn out to be more hair than gem, just like her mother. Where will their gems be?

 She notices a crack on the purple shell, the glossy surface breaking. Steven is kneeling next to the table, documenting every moment with a camera. “Oh, I see a hand, I see a hand! Tiny gem hand!”

 And indeed, a lilac hand is wriggling its miniature fingers outside of the shell, and Pearl feels she can scream until her vocal chords perish right then and there because this is her _daughter_ and she’s _alive_ and _look at her_.

 “Yeah!” Amethyst screams next her in victory. “Strong like her momma!”

 And she laughs, staring at the little hands, the litte feet fighting their way out of the shells.

* * *

 

 The gemlings are even better than what she had imagined.

 The pearl turns out to be a beautiful Mauve Pearl, and her mother had shed tears of joy when she noticed her gemstone was perfectly round. Maybe it had a couple ridges here and there, but no bumps, and it was the appropriate shape for a flawless pearl, not an oval or a figure eight. A tuft of salmon pink hair blooms from her head, but it’s nowhere as wild as her sister’s. Pearl has noticed Mauve has inhrited the inverse of her sister— Amethyst’s button nose and her own thin lips—, but can’t make up anything else about how she’s been mixed up— She is dangerously small, fitting comfortably in the cup of her hands, and it’ll take a while before her mom figures out her body type. Her gemstone, much like Pearl’s, rests on her forehead; and to give proper homage to her legacy, she’s quite vocal, chirping and emulating the noises around her nonstop, having welcomed the world with a loud squeak.

 The amethyst has a gem that’s slightly discolored, a pale, delicate purple instead of her parent’s spunky one. Au contraire to Mauve Pearl, she’s apparently been blessed with both the trademark nose of one parent and the recognizable lips of the other. She’s been born much stronger than her sister, her physical form stockier and slightly bigger, but according to Peridot’s data, still below the appropriate size. She’s indeed more hair than actual gem; a wild cream mane sprouting from her head and spreading _everywhere_. It’s really fluffy, though, so Pearl doesn’t mind.

 Her gemstone rests in approximately the same spot where Amethyst’s is, its shape a hexagonal prism; and much to the surprise of both parents, the few noises she’s made have been very akin to those of a kitten, mewling and occasionally purring when Pearl kneads her little head with her fingertips.

 They’re perfect. Pearl’s still up at night admiring them while they rest, even if it’s been a kind of tiring day, cleaning them off and collecting the minerals they’ll need to feed off of to grow. She may as well be sleeping, but she doesn’t care— she wants to admire her young, make sure it’s not a dream.

 Her thumb gingerly caresses Amethyst Jr.’s cheek, and the gemling stretches in the basket, kneading the blankets slightly with her miniature hands. They’re her weakness.

 “Yo,” she hears, and she turns to find her mate standing on the temple door, half-asleep. “Ever thought of giving the kids some space to chill? They have a lot of growing and other… gemling stuff to do, and they can’t while you stalk them.”

 Pearl laughs, but covers her mouth with her hand, not wishing to awaken them. “I can’t. Have you actually looked at them? They’re so cute I could gobble them up, and I don’t even like eating. It feels like a dream.”

 “Yes, duh, of course I’ve looked at my own children. One of them looks like Opal, the other looks like you, only with her mama’s fabulous purple skin and actually pretty.”

 The other rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Actually, if you look up close at Mauve, you’ll see her skin is _lilac_ —“

 “Come on, P. Don’t look for more excuses. Just bring the kids into the temple and let ‘em rest. Let’s go to bed.”

 “ _Fiiine_ ,” she whines back, gently picking up the basket and unintentionally making her offspring stir inside. “but let them sleep on the bed with us. Yes?”

 “Yeah. Can’t ever reject a cuddle partner, even less one that’s this darn cute.”

* * *

 

 “I love you all so much,” she whispers, being thankful for once she has the long limbs she has— she can have all of them together in one embrace; her mate and the two tiny, tiny gems resting bewteen both. They’ve snuggled against their parents, finding their body heat far more comforting than just the blankets. Amethyst Jr. Is purring amidst deep breathes.

 “We all love you too,” Amethyst replies lazily, trying her best to return the hug and not squish the gemlings in the process. “Now rest, babe. Life is going to be hectic now that these two are on the house.”

 Pearl isn’t sure of how she’ll manage to sleep this particular night. “I can’t wait.”


	11. Tuesday, Noon and Early Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Europa arrives at the Crystal Gem Household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not a very specific POV for this one. Also, finally breaching the part on how the gems felt about Greg's passing! I might (will) cover more of this, since I'm sure Rose is curious if Salty Pearl still exists or not. 
> 
> Also, no environmental music. add your own.
> 
> this took a lot and might not be as juicy, but that's because I'm kind of out of the writing swing lately, what with college starting and the like. I don't want to drop the fic completely, but I might be focusing more on drabbles/oneshots set in this universe to keep the quota fulfilled while I advance on this one. Sorry guys. Feel free to suggest how to make this one better, though. Remember I rely on you totally!

 “Welcome home! Oh my gods, we hadn’t seen you in so long!”

 The young woman launches herself into Pearl’s arms like she would with a mother. Being how her own mother had passed away in childbirth—a rare occurence at this point in human history— Pearl had, actually, been her closest experience to a mom. She’d grown much like Steven himself, with the gems as mothers and his living father.

 Europa squeezes the gem in her arms, burying her face in the crook of her neck. It doesn’t take long for Pearl to understand that she’s in massive pain, and she squeezes back, rubbing the youngun’s back, feeling her shoulder and neck grow wet.

 “It’s okay,” she mumbles, and she moves the woman so they’re looking eye to eye, holding her chin up.  “Come on. Just say hello to everyone for now, okay?”

 She’s still teary-eyed, but she nods and walks into the living room, where the gems sit on the L-couch, expectant. They all stand up and greet her in a mass, save for Rose; hugging her and welcoming her back with several degrees of enthusiasm, though the girl herself seems rather dull.

 After the necessary small talk, Europa’s eyes finally veer to her grandmother. Pearl imagines she must be shocked at best—Gems have a quality for retaining an image of youth, with few wrinkles or marks of age, and Rose doesn’t look much older than Europa herself.

 She walks up to Rose and offers a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Europa Quartz Universe,” she greets, droning.

 “Rose Quartz,” the gem replies, giving the frail human hand a reassuring squeeze. “Nice to meet you, too. Never did I expect to come back to the children of my child.”

 “ _Nor_ did I expect to finally meet grandma someday,” is the reply.

 “Alright,” Jasper yells from the kitchen counter. Pearl can’t help but admire the way she keeps trying to sustain this image of happiness. “Lunch is all ready! I made pasta with bolognese sauce, Europa. Your favorite!”

 It’s nearly noon, and the girl’s stomach unintentionally growls, drawing a hearty laugh from Jasper and a couple of giggles from other gems. Garnet offers help with serving the meal, pouring the pasta al dente in square bowls and generously dousing it with the seasoning, moving the plates to a sleek glass-and-metal dining table nearby. “We’re going to have to move a seat or two from the counter.”

 “Amethyst! You heard her. Move some seats to the table, will ya?”

 Said gem salutes and obeys.

* * *

 

 “Tell me some more about yourself,” Rose Quartz prompts, pointing at Europa with her fork. She’s already done some update small talk with the other gems, talking about college —she’s majoring in Literature— and about life overseas, but the gem wishes to know the basics.

 Europa drinks some orange juice and swallows her pasta, clearing her throat. “What would you like to know?”

 “Well, I’m not sure. Your age, who your mother was… Did you grow in this house?”

 “Ah,” she replies. “Well, right now I’m twenty-two. I moved to start college around two or three years ago, but when the news of… well, you know, _dad’s passing_ arrived, I agreed to pack up and come back home until his funeral.” Her freckled face grows dim. “I never thought I’d be the one to fall on the Dad Dies bingo, and I’m sure Io didn’t either.” She opens her eyes, recalling Rose probably doesn’t know about Io. “That Io girl, she’s my older sister. She’s finishing her thirties now. Has two kids already, started her own branch of the lineage. She’s married, too. I just have my first sweetheart.” She giggles. “Io did know mom, but I didn’t. Death on childbirth is rare these days, but well, I guess I just had to fall on that other lucky bingo.”

 Europa’s lips purse, and she quickly shakes her head, dismissing the painful memories for now.  “Hey,” she asks. “How come Opal isn’t here?”

 Amethyst slurps her pasta and chews noisily before answering. “Opal didn’t take what happened too well. We’ve tried but she hasn’t come out since Rose is here.” She doesn’t elaborate any further, not wishing to put any more strain on Pearl.

 “Oh,” the girl mumbles, fiddling slightly with the food on her plate.

 Most of lunch transcurs within awkward silence, particularly from the Lapis and Garnet portions of the team. The former refuses to communicate with anyone but her mate, leaning into Peridot’s ear and speaking in whispers, and the latter simply refuses to speak at all, giving her inner turmoil right away. Pearl is sure that, were she to remove her shades, her eyes would look tired and clouded.

* * *

 

 As soon as the meal finishes and the dishes are washed, Pearl and Amethyst retreat into the ‘art room’ common area of the temple, just one of the many chambers that were built during war-time to shelter all the healed, formerly bubbled gems. They’d been re-adapted for other, miscellaneous purposes after-war, and one of those had become an unofficial art studio. It’d all started when Pearl and Amethyst had used it to store the effigies of Mauve and Junior after their passing, and had rolled from there. Europa follows, and Rose is surprised by the fact Lapis joins the little squad. Her curiosity is piqued, but she also feels unwanted. Thus, much like she did the first night, she heads out for an afternoon stroll.

 She feels overwhelmed by the city technology, so her feet guide her around the temple and up the cliff where it has settled, where she always brought her moss to bloom. The lighthouse has disappeared, replaced by what seems to be a reinforced concrete tower with circuitry. She wonders if this is just a more advanced version of a lighthouse, using some sort of contrived signal to serve its purpose, but figures there’s not much she can look into with her current knowledge.

 The mid-summer afternoon heat has her sweating in a jiffy, and her dress is damp by the time she’s finished the climb. She doesn’t remember her form being this exhausted when she guided the moss, and she figures that, much like her mind was in stasis, being half of Steven must also have rusted her form.

 She stops when she finally reaches flat ground, taking a few seconds to admire the expanded Beach City, the way it flows into the sea like a net and the _literal_ net of magnetic rails through which pods float. The city feels almost organic in its artificiality, simulating motion when the walls of the buildings change color.

 The corner of her eye catches a pedestal to her far right, and, being absolutely sure that wasn’t there when she lived for the first time, she snaps to look at it. It stands proud and tall, polished and flawlessly rectangular, its marble so clean the light hitting it makes it almost blinding. Curious, Rose walks the distance splitting her from it, and notices what she assumed to be a pedestal is in fact a massive, smooth marble slab, so big it could be a wall. Several bouquets of flowers are spread all over its base, some of them withering, some almost new. A wooden guitar, so ancient it’s dried and cracked, sits amidst the flowers, eternally suspended in a glass case.

 Her hands trembling, Rose walks towards the glass protecting the guitar, analyizing the old instrument, enchancing her own sight. The paint is almost gone, having peeled off, the floor of the case dusted with flakes. A marking prevails slightly, though, almost faded by the passage of time, but preserved just enough for her to notice—

 Her eyes are wide as saucers. She stands up, squeezing them shut. Her hands ball to fists, nails digging so hard in the skin of her palms she’s in real pain. She opens them very slowly.

 

_Gregory Universe (1977-2050)_

_In loving memory_

_“If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hotdogs.”_

Rose feels like she felt that one time back in the war in which a gem had finally snuck up behind her and stabbed her right through with a particularly thick-bladed sword. She feels like she’s going to split right in two. She can barely make the words through her tears, and her whole face is burning, like she’s had it sunk in lava.

  _Everything_ hurts.

 She doesn’t notice when she’s fallen to the floor, to her knees, nor does her throat hurt when the ear-piercing scream breaks the peaceful silence atop the cliff.

_But of course. It was wont to happen, Rose. You knew this was fate when you chose to have his child._

_It hurts…_

A faint memory of words makes it through her mind. _Those tears are for healing, hon’. Don’t waste them on sadness._

 It just makes her sob louder.

 The sound of footsteps is the first thing to pull her out of the void, the one thing that makes her notice she’s been singing _Let Me Drive my Van (into your Heart)_ for the past twenty minutes or so, inert on the floor and surrounded by flowers. The crown of her head touches the glass casing and her eyes have watched the clouds drift by, but she’s so lost in thoughts only now does she remember she has _senses_.

 Her line of sight scans the distance and finds a profoundly reflexive Garnet and Jasper walking up the cliff, standing next to Lighthouse two-point-zero. They seem to be conversing, but she can’t make out the words. Both warriors are about as stoic and firm as they always are, but Rose can see their bodies fiddle awkwardly, either because one rolls her shoulders stretching her back or because the other clicks her fingers anxiously over her thigh; and despite the fact Garnet is a perma-fusion and an actual relationship and thus should be closed to herself, she can’t help but feel as if she’s witnessing an _intimate_ _moment._

Garnet turns her head to look at Jasper, and her face makes the slightest turn, and her finger points, and it’s then Jasper who’s turning and looking at her, though she’s too grief-stricken to even feel embarrassment.

Then, the footsteps are going in her direction.

 The fusion is looking down at her from her zenith. “What are you doing?”

 “My family is dead,” she drones. “All my family. My husband is dead, my son is dead, my lady in waiting is figuratively dead…”

 “The fact you even considered Pearl to be yours at one point is disgusting in and out of itself,” Jasper spits, her golden eyes staring her down condescendingly. She’s willing to flex until a certain point and give her sympathy, but as a jasper gem, she’s still fiercely protective of her family and-or brood, and having a foreigner claim possession over one of hers is simply over the edge.

 Rose doesn’t want to argue about this, so she closes her eyes and lies her head sideways. “It doesn’t matter. My family is dead. Nothing matters. Nothing has meaning.”

 “You are acting incredibly stupid.”

 She looks at the bronzed gem with the corner of her eye, not even bothering to turn her head.

 Garnet nods. “We felt the same when _you_ died because your selfishness made you have a child on impulse, disregarding three other lives you had at your charge, albeit your mistake brought us not only inmense joy, but also inmense maturity. Every day I thank the gods Pearl is finally over you, _I_ am over you, _Amethyst_ is enough over you to be her own _adult_ and _mature_ gem. We would have never done that if not for your little impulse. So, yes. Thank you for dying.”

 “Garnet, you really are an asshole.”

 “I am not. I am a leader who visualizes the best for the team at her hand. I have to be firm. If you think this little speech I am giving you is hard, you should ask anyone else in the team about the reprimands I have given them after heavy mistakes. Yes. Even Jasper.” She’s crossed her arms and cocked her hips, and Jasper has nodded her head in admittance.

 “Stop acting like a human cub, Rose. You’re too old for petty tantrums. So, you lost your status on your team. So, they moved on. I expected you to understand this is natural. At least you were never a _foe_. I wonder how you would have reacted if you were treated right now the way Lapis, Peridot and I were when we first arrived at your temple.” Jasper’s meaty index is pointing at her vigorously, and she never expected to be lectured by _her_ of all people the way she is now.

 The fusion crouches next to her, being far more up close and personal. “You can stay here wailing, or you can do what _we_ did when you ditched us. Pearl acted the way you are now, and eventually I had to beat her back to Earth. Amethyst and I preferred to help with your son. Amethyst herself also did a few bumps along the way, but she was naught but a child, but _your_ child, so I had to be milder with her. I eventually learned to discipline her correctly. But we moved on. We enjoyed the company of your son. And it is time _you_ move on, and I am not talking of Steven. Move on from your status. Move on from your possession over Pearl.”

 The rosy gem rouses from her spot defensively, forcing Jasper and Garnet out of her way. “You are all acting _awful_. You don’t even consider _my_ grief or the fact I don’t know _anything_ about this planet. I don’t care. If you’re going to see me crying over my husband and my lady in waiting and react by nagging me, I’m out.” She stands after her little show of sass and walks away, frustrated.

 She stomps her way back into the temple, holding back tears of anger and sadness. She doesn’t even know what upsets her more; if the disrespect to her grief, or the utter rejection, or the realization of Greg’s death, or _what_.

 She opens the door angrily and strolls around the expanded inner sanctum, recalling it from the past two days but never exploring it in-depth. She wonders when she’ll have enough regard from the rest of the team to ask about it.

 Eventually, much to her surprise, she crashes in the art room.

 Lapis and Peridot are having a chat with Europa, and, in the background, Pearl and Amethyst work separately on the first representation to the likeness of her son she’s ever seen. She hadn’t thought of asking her room to make a projection—since the room projected only likenesses of what the gem bearer already knew— and she doesn’t know how photos work in this epoch.

 As she waltzes in, the couple of mates retreats, leaving only her, Pearl, Amethyst, and Europa.

 She takes a seat next to the human girl, admiring the other two crafting the statue nearby. If she’s to go by it,  Steven had a rounded face, not unlike Greg’s —that makes her heart hurt—, a nose reminiscent of that of both parents, and a mane about as dense as Greg’s, but as curly as hers. She doesn’t think she can determine a body type yet, but he seemed to never lose his pudge, powerful as he might be.

 Just looking at the rock is enough to sink her in nostalgia and she sighs, remembering the wall with the bouquets at its base.

 “Did you know him?” she hears, and her eyes meet Europa’s chocolate-y ones. Despite her tan skin color and freckles, the features of her face mirror hers and, thus, those of her father so well it feels plain _weird_ to look at her. “He talked to me once about this tape, whatever that is, in which you told him you’d always be part of him or something like that.”

 “I _was_ part of him,” Rose answers, recalling herself pregnant on the beach recording said tape for him. “But merely as a magic rock. My conscious and physical form were in stasis while he lived.  I don’t have any memories of his, nor do I know what he looked like. It’s basically as if I was dead all this time and resucitated.”

 She notices the human is writing on a clipboard and, much like everything in this epoch, it makes her curious. “What’s that?”

 “Pearl asked me to write an eulogy to dad for the funerary ceremony,” she answers, sniffling. “It’s been a little hard. Lapis and Peri were helping me out with ideas. I just wrote them down to have them  as inspiration for the final writing. Jasper and Garnet threw some of her own, but then Garnet got too sad and they walked out. I’ve basically just asked everyone if they want anything in. Do you have any suggestions?”

 Rose giggles. “Not the slightest. I didn’t know him. I was thinking you could tell me a bit more about him, in fact.” Yes, it might be masochistic of her to do this right after Greg’s memorial, but who cares?

 “Ah, my dad,” Europa begins. “Good question, you know? It might help me put my own touch into the eulogy. Well, dad was a papa bear, really. He was this gentle, pudgy giant until something messed with what he loved, then he got unstoppable. It was mostly the former with me, though. I didn’t grow up during the war, when he got in berserk mode. I was born well after Yellow Diamond gave up. So, yeah.”

 She sighs. “He used to love animals, too. We’d heal strays and put them up for adoption. I think he just loved everything and saw the good in everyone, and it took a lot of stuff for Yellow to make him hate her.”

 She scribbles a line about him being loving, before turning to look at Rose, whose eyes are sparkling with both excitement and tears. “I wish I knew more about him and his war accomplishments but I only got to see him as a dad. He’d only use his strenght to twirl me around when we danced in the living room or something.” Faint smile.

 “Don’t worry about it,” Rose answers. “I don’t need you to know about him as anything else but a dad. Thank you, Europa.”

 Silence prevails in the room for a second while Rose fixes her attention on her two former younglings, their bodies sweaty with effort as they break out forms of the rock. Pearl is retouching a quite reliable rendition of a face, while Amethyst alternates between chiseling a hand and using one of her own, shapeshifted to look like Steven’s, as reference.

 “Say,” she asks, turning to look at the human, and remembering the question in the back of her mind since day one. “May I ask you about this ‘Universe Lineage?’” She makes air quotations for reference. “I’ve heard it here and there since I returned, and everyone seems to know of it but me.”

 Europa sighs. “That’s one long explanation. I was just assuming the other gems would update you on that. I guess I can try my best though. Basically,” she says,  and she traces a globe with the sides of her hands. “The Universe lineage is the hundreds of descendants, and their families, that have been born from Steven’s forty-five children.”

 Rose’s face is so dumbfounded Europa can’t help but laugh. “Want me to show you? In your room, maybe? There’s _much_ more to it than just that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On version 1.0 as of August 24, 2015.
> 
> Additional note: since I wanted to make oneshots and drabbles for the universe while I can udpate just to not leave you hanging, if there is a specific part of the universe you'd like to see something about feel free to suggest! Want gemling fluff? sure thing! just ask! (smut can also be included! Exploration on the relationship of characters too! Just go nuts!)

**Author's Note:**

> Updated to version 3.0.


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